SAMBALPUR: Every tourism season, people rush to Jawahar Udyan beside Hirakud dam reservoir to enjoy the tranquility of the sprawling garden.
Jawahar Udyan was developed during the tenure of former deputy chief minister Basanta Biswal. It has a rose garden, artificial waterfall, besides a children’s park. Several species of birds also flock the park.
In a bid to attract more people to the place, the Hirakud Main Dam Division under Department of Water Resources had developed an artificial lake five years back to introduce boating facility adjacent to the udyan.
Even as work on the lake was completed in 2008-2009, authorities have failed to identify a private operator to run the boating facility. During the previous tourism season from October to March, there were days when more than 5,000 people visited the garden on a single day.
The Hirakud Main Dam Division decided to add more recreational facilities to the place and began work on the artificial lake spread over 10.5 acres on one side of the garden. It had been planned to introduce pedal boats to draw more visitors to the garden as entry is through a ticket.
While the lake is ready and four pedal boats have already been purchased, the agency to run the boating facility is yet to be selected. The division has floated tender twice to find a suitable operator, but things have not materialised so far.
Executive Engineer of the Hirakud Main Dam Division, Jashobanta Parida said a major portion of the water body has been covered with weeds and cleaning them is the first priority. After this, a fresh tender would be floated to invite private operators for boat service in the lake.