SAMBALPUR:Chhatra Sagar, a water body located near Somnath temple at Balibandha, will be revived to attract more tourists to the historic site.
Informing this, Sambalpur Collector Samarth Verma said various beautification works will be carried out to make the water body, which is covered with silt and wild vegetation now, attractive.
Apart from its restoration, landscaping and plantation will be carried out on the embankment of the pond. Besides, concrete benches will be constructed and decorative lights installed on the embankment, the Collector said.
The estimated cost of the project is `20 lakh and Sambalpur Municipal Corporation (SMC) has provided fund for the project. Work on the project will be completed in about three months, Verma said.
The objective behind restoration of Chhatra Sagar is to attract visitors to the the oldest Shiva temple of the city and revive the neglected water body, he added.
A city-based writer on temples, Deepak Panda, said the water body is a part of the moat which was developed during the rule of first king of Sambalpur Balaram Dev. The Fisheries department constructed the embankment and converted it into a water body after Independence, he added.
The water body has been named after the seventh King of Sambalpur Chhatra Sai.
The Somnath temple is one of the prominent Sivalayas of the region. The temple was constructed by the third King of Sambalpur Balabhadra Dev between 1594 and 1620. The famous Sital Sasthi festival, which marks the wedding of Lord Shiva with Goddess Parvati, had started from the temple in 1678.