BHUBANESWAR: The Centre on Tuesday confirmed that Konark temple has found a place in the list of Iconic Tourist sites of the country.Union Minister of State for Tourism and Culture Prahlad Singh Patel made the announcement in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday while replying to a supplementary question from BJD member Sasmit Patra. “Sun Temple at Konark in Odisha has been included in the Iconic Tourist Sites of India listed by the Centre,” he said and added that the number of iconic sites has increased to 19 from 17.
Patel said he had also received a letter from Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik demanding the inclusion of a tourist place of Odisha in the iconic sites. Raising the question as to when a tourist site from Odisha will be included in the iconic list, Patra had referred to the letter written by the Chief Minister in this regard.
The Union Minister had announced on January 20 that the heritage site Konark will find a place in the list of iconic sites of the country. “The people of Odisha will soon receive the good news about Konark being included in the list of iconic sites. We will organise a special event to announce the inclusion,” the Minister had said while addressing the concluding day of the two-day National Tourism Conference 2020 at the Konark Eco Retreat.
Last year, there was a huge hue and cry about Konark not making it to the list announced by the Ministry of Tourism. The Centre had sanctioned `5,000 crore for development of these sites across India. Taking up the issue with the Centre, the Chief Minister had urged Patel to include at least two important places of Odisha in the list of iconic tourist destinations of the country.
Expressing concern over the omission of Odisha from the list of 17 iconic tourism sites earmarked in the Budget, the Chief Minister had drawn attention towards the development of prime tourist destinations of the State like the Sun Temple and Chandrabhaga beach, Chilika Lake, Bhitarkanika National Park, Similipal biosphere and Buddhist Diamond Triangle.