ROURKELA: The breathtaking Kanakunda canyon in Sundargarh district is in the limelight again, with people pushing for its development as a tourist site.
The recent push for Kanakunda’s development came after Mahindra group’s chairman Anand Mahindra shared pictures of the site on X.
On February 27, Mahindra reposted pictures of Kanakunda, which is a natural canyon on the Ib river, and wrote, “Hello @odisha_tourism _tourism what can we do to make this first a national destination and then a global hot spot??? ”
The Tourism department thanked Mahindra for highlighting the canyon and said, “Odisha Tourism is committed to showcasing this and many such underrated treasures, and we’re working on enhancing infrastructure, creating sustainable tourism experiences, and promoting such unique destinations on national and international platforms.”
Following this, deputy chief minister Pravati Parida, who also holds the Tourism portfolio, said that a team was dispatched to the site to assess its development potential.
The canyon’s name originates from the Odia words “Kana” (hole) and “Kunda” (pit). Located near Ghoghar village in Balishankara block, about 45 km from Sundargarh town and 145 km from Rourkela, Kanakunda boasts of a spectacular network of canyons shaped by the erosion of rock layers over several kilometres by the Ib River.
Balishankara sarpanch Dinabandhu Sai (57) recalled that Kanakunda has always been a tourist attraction but social media has enhanced the tourist footfall in the area. “Visitors now come from across Odisha as well as from other states, including Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand to visit Kanakunda, he said.
While Sai said that Kanakunda should be developed into a prominent tourist destination, he called for safety measures there. He said that proper barricading should be done at Kanakunda and awareness signs should be fixed to prevent accidents.
He recalled that 10 persons have died at Kanakunda in the last five years, with the recent incident being reported just 15 days ago when a man from Rourkela fell to his death while taking selfie on a rock.