SAMBALPUR:In a bid to attract more tourists to Samaleswari temple, a musical fountain will be installed at the heritage pond of the shrine.Informing this, Samaleswari Temple Trust Board president Sanjay Baboo said Odisha Tourism Development Corporation (OTDC) will execute the work.
The OTDC has already floated tender for installation of the musical fountain funded by Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL). The estimated cost of the project has been fixed at `27.26 lakh. MCL has already deposited 15 per cent of the cost with the OTDC before floating of the tender. Work on the project will begin after the monsoon season, Baboo added.
Meanwhile, the Tourism department has restored the heritage pond, which was lying abandoned since long, with desilting and removal of wild growths at an estimated cost of `5 lakh. This apart, pathway has been constructed around the pond at a cost of `11 lakh.
After completion of the project, the musical fountain will be a major attraction inside the temple premises. The temple, situated on the bank of river Mahanadi, attracts thousands of devotees and tourists from across the State besides neighbouring Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand.