BHUBANESWAR: In a bid to allow tourists explore the age-old monuments and appreciate their sculptural marvel, the Tourism Department has come up with a new project. It is planning to flag off the proposed Heritage Walk project within a month. To be implemented through OTDC, the project was announced earlier this year during the World Heritage Day. Though the project was scheduled to be launched in May, it had to be deferred due to the heatwave. Even as the modalities are yet to be finalised, it has been decided to route the project through places like Rajarani, Mukteswar,Parsurameswar, Swarnajaleswar, Kotitertheswar, Annatabasudev, Lingaraj, Papanasini, Ekamra Van and Vaital temples in Old Town area. The walk around these monuments will be organised on every second Saturday of the month. Sources in the OTDC said the old tourist office behind the Pantha Nivas is being developed into an interpretation centre which would be the starting point of the walk. History of the temples, to be covered, will be explained to the tourists at the interpretation centre and they would be given notes and handouts that would serve as a collector’s piece. “Since this would be a paid package, we are trying to make it as affordable as possible,” said a senior official of the OTDC. One of the biggest roadblock to the project would be the traffic snarl-ups and rickety routes to the monuments. Meanwhile, the OTDC Chairman Jyotiskar Mohapatra has done a volte face on his statement on replica of Jagannath temple at the Jagannath Ballabha Mutt in Puri. Earlier, Mohapatra had said the OTDC planned to set up a replica of the shrine for the non-Hindus and foreigners. “However, no idol would be installed,” he had said. Opposing this, a PIL was filed in the Orissa High Court recently. However, he clarified to the mediapersons on Monday that OTDC had no such plans.
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