BHUBANESWAR: After infrastructure development at Puri-Ramachandi-Prachi riverfront in Deuli, the Centre is now focusing on creating similar facilities at the Chausathi Yogini temple in Balangir under its ‘Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Heritage Augmentation Drive’ (PRASHAD) scheme of the Ministry of Tourism.
Chausathi Yogini temple at Ranipur-Jharial is among 26 temples across the country selected for infrastructure development under the scheme. It is aimed at boosting pilgrimage tourist arrivals at the monument which is protected by the Archaeological Survey of India.
Official sources said under the scheme, the state government will get funds to set up components like amenity centres, parking areas, street scaping, souvenir shops, rain and shade shelters and overall civil infrastructure improvement.
The temple currently has no tourist amenities or any other facilities for visitors despite getting a steady flow to domestic tourists during the peak season.
As per statistics provided by the Tourism department, the temple at Ranipur-Jharial last year received 79,535 domestic tourists while the number was 74, 235 in 2021.
Built in sandstone, it is one of the 11 Chausathi Yogini temples in the country and the second in Odisha, providing a glimpse into the religious and occult practices from medieval times. Considered among the largest hypaethral temples, it is 40-feet long, 36-ft wide and 40 ft high.
The temple houses an image of three-faced Lord Shiva and Parvati standing at the centre of the monument encircled by 64 yoginis in various poses. It is believed to have been built in the 9th or 10th century. The Centre had declared the temples of Ranipur Jharial and their adjoining ruins as monuments of national importance in 2017.
The Puri-Ramachandi-Prachi riverfront work was sanctioned in 2014-15 and implemented at the cost of Rs 50 crore.