BHUBANESWAR: Ekamra Walks, a weekly heritage tour by Tourism Department, Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) and Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA), began on Sunday with participation of 70 people. The walk that stretched over two kms in the Old Town area covering some of the well-preserved monuments, aimed at re-introducing Bhubaneswar’s historic treasure to people.
Before initiating the tour from the Mukteswar remple, local guide Satya Mishra gave a detailed description on the genesis and evolution of various temple designs in the region and how both Buddhist and Hindustani architecture are blended in Ekamra Kshetra. After Mukteswar, the two groups visited Parsurameswar, bank of Bindusagar, Ananta Vasudev, Lingaraj, Chitrakarini, Vaitaal temples and Ekamra Van, the medicinal plant garden on the western bank of Bindusagar lake.
Principal Secretary, Tourism Department, Arti Ahuja inaugurated the event. She opined, if the Departments of Higher Education and School and Mass Education tie up with the project, then students can be sensitised about Kalinga’s culture and heritage in a wider scale. Ahuja advised the organisers to get in touch with hoteliers and restaurant owners to devise sustainable formulae to run the walks.
Senior Forest Department officer Ashok Mishra educated the visitors on medicinal plant garden - ‘Ekamravana’, and how three different themes have converged into a single thread to accommodate 220 varieties of plants with medicinal, religious and ritualistic needs of the temple.
Special Secretary of General Administration Department, Ashok Meena, BDA Vice-Chairman Dr Krishan Kumar, Director Tourism Nitin Jawale and senior officials of BDA, BMC and Tourism Department were present.