Gunupur: Rayagada is endowed with a number of beautiful natural spots. Some of these places have been accorded tourist spot tags while others have remained inaccessible to tourists.
One such place is the Shiva shrine at Sefali hill under Gunupur block. The place, with tremendous potential for sightseeing in a breathtakingly natural setting, cries for infrastructure development.
It was in 1993 that locals installed a Shiv Linga atop the hill. In 2007, a temple and side deities were installed. Construction materials were collected from devotees as donations. A step pathway with a set of 443 steps has been made to the temple.
On the occasion of Kartik Somabar, Anlanavami and Shravan Somabar and other auspicious days, the place is thronged by a large number of devotees.
Tourists and devotees standing atop the hill enjoy the panoramic view of Vamsadhara river flowing at the foothill.
People from other areas have started coming to the hill. The administration took initiatives to develop the spot. With efforts of the former PD (DRDA) Amrit Ruturaj and former Gunupur sub-collector, the shrine was sanctioned Rs 68 lakh for road connectivity. The Gunupur NAC floated a tender for its development. Later, a private agency based in Bhubaneswar conducted a survey for a road to the top the hill. The agency estimated the cost of the road project at Rs 5 crore. However, the plan was shelved for lack of funds.
“The work of the road project has been stalled since then. The agency was invited again to reconstruct the existing road to reduce the cost,” said Umaprasad Das, executive officer of the Gunupur NAC.
Another problem at the shrine is lack of water atop the hill. A pucca road will definitely attract more people to the spot. People shy away from climbing over 400 steps to go to the hill top, locals said.
They said the hilltop shrine has a lot of potential to boost tourism. “The place needs infrastructure development and drinking water facility to make it a place like Tarini Peetha,” said Nunu Padhi, president of the temple Trust.
PNN