SAMBALPUR: In a bid to boost tourism, Sambalpur Municipal Corporation (SMC) will soon start boating facility at Jawahar Udyan, located below Hirakud dam.SMC has started restoration of the water body after obtaining a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from Water Resources department. Enforcement officer of SMC, Subhankar Mohanty said the ropeway, which connects the Jawahar Udyan with Gandhi Minar at the Hirakud dam site is already being run and managed by SMC at Jawahar Udyan. Thousands of tourists from across the state visit the park for its ropeway.
“A Mission Shakti Cafe is also operating in the park for visitors. However, the water body inside the park was lying abandoned. Hence, a decision was taken to restore the water body and provide boating facilities also to the visitors at the site. It will be an added attraction for the tourists visiting Hirakud dam and will also help in increasing the footfall of tourists,” he said.
The renovation of the water body will be completed in three phases following which the decision to procure boats will be taken. “We have started cleaning a portion of the water body after dewatering the area. It will take around six months to completely rejuvenate the portion of the water body, following which boating facility will be launched there,” said assistant executive engineer of SMC, B Mohanty. The Water Resources department had developed the water body to provide visitors with boating facility in 2008-09.