Samaleswari shrine revamp on anvil

SAMBALPUR: To give a fillip to tourism in the state, beautification and peripheral development of Samaleswari temple and a heritage corridor besides state-of-the-art amenities for pilgrims will be carried out within next two years. A five-member team of senior State government officials on Tuesday visited the shrine here to review the redevelopment plan.

The redevelopment project of the temple being monitored by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, will be implemented on the lines of Srimandir in Puri and Lingaraj Temple in Bhubaneswar.  Addressing media persons at the Collectorate, Chairman, Western Odisha Development Council and Principal Advisor to the Chief Minister, Asit Tripathy said Samaleswari temple is an important religious place of Odisha and devotees from across the region and neighbouring states throng the shrine to seek the blessings of the deity.

As part of the plan, beautification and peripheral development of the temple will be carried out and a heritage corridor constructed. The temple will also get state-of-the-art amenities for pilgrims. Tripathy said the Mahanadi river front near the temple too will be developed and steps taken to ensure it remains perennial throughout the year. He said fair compensation package will be given to people likely to be displaced by the project. 

The redevelopment of the shrine will provide a boost to tourism in the town. The team will present a report to the Chief Minister and a blueprint will be prepared after taking into account the key factors. The budget for  the project will be finalised accordingly with a target to be completed within two years.   

The Chief Minister had visited the temple on January 21 last year and announced that development work of the 16th century shrine will be started soon. Chief Secretary Suresh Chandra Mohapatra, 5T Secretary VK Pandian, Special Secretary to the Chief Minister, R Vineel Krishna and Secretary, Works department Krishan Kumar were part of the team that visited the temple early on Tuesday.