Tourism potential of the scenic Khandadhar waterfall and other under-developed tourist spots remains untapped. Though promises have been made in the past to develop these sites to draw more tourists by the Government, none of them has materialised till date.
Known for its rich reserve of iron ore, Khandadhar consists of forests, waterfalls, eight major perennial streams and one of the major elephant corridors connecting Saranda in Jharkhand and Bhamragarh in Chhattisgarh.
The dense forest of Khandadhar supports several rare, endangered and endemic flora and fauna of socio-economic and ecological importance.
Khandadhar waterfall was one of the most sought after tourism destinations in the State till a few years back. As on today, in the absence of infrastructure facilities and good roads to the site, number of visitors to the waterfall has gone down.
The road leading to the waterfall, about 85 km from Rourkela, has been in a miserable condition for a long time. There is no accommodation facility for tourists and safety is a major concern. Near Khandadhar, there are two facilities for tourists to stay. While one is an inspection bungalow of the Public Works Department, another one belongs to the Paudi Bhuyan Development Agency (PBDA). However, both lack facilities and tourists are more interested in day-time tours.
Increasing Maoists activities in the area have also affected the prospects of staying over night. Police apprehending Maoists attacks also stay away from the place.
Bonai Bikash Parishad (BBP) president Sanat Pradhan said the thought of a bone-breaking journey on the miserable road stretch of around 17 km from Kurda village to the waterfall discourages tourist inflow.
Pradhan said adding to the problems, PBDA has set up a toll gate near Khandadhar to collect `40 from four-wheelers and Rs10 from two-wheelers. He said existing guest house of PBDA is not open for all.
A few years back, the then Chief Secretary Bijay Patnaik while inaugurating Khandadhar Mahotsav organised by BBP had promised measures to help develop Khandadhar. He had assured of a better approach road to the waterfall and steps to connect Khandadhar with Keonjhar via Phuljhor and Bonai. “A guest house to be managed by local villagers would also be set up,” he said. But none of these measures has seen the light of the day.
Ironically, the tourism office at Rourkela is also lying defunct with the post of tourist officer remaining vacant.
Khandadhar apart, Sundargarh is home to several destinations which have scope for eco-tourism, water tourism and religious tourism. These too are not being developed.
One among them is Pitamahal dam where water sports can be developed.
