Odisha govt draws up plan to beautify Atharanala bridge in Puri

Reported by Chinmaya Dehury

Bhubaneswar, Aug 4:

The Odisha government has chalked out a plan for renovation and beautification of the historic Atharanala bridge in Puri, Tourism and Culture Minister Ashok Panda said today.

A meeting convened today by the minister to finalise the measures to be taken up for the beautification of the bridge decided to remove the moss and mud heaped near the bridge and facilitate boating to attract tourists to the historical spot.

The development of parking, footway, lighting and landscaping would be carried out soon,  the minister said.

The Centre has made a budgetary provision of Rs 475.33 lakh out of which Rs 95.07 lakh has already granted for the development of Atharnala, he revealed.

Atharnala bridge was constructed by King Bhanu Deba of the Ganga Dynasty in the 13th century on the river Muthiya and is still in use.

Atharnala is a combination of two words, ‘Athar’ and ‘Nala’. Atharnalacombinedly means ‘Eighteen Passages’. There are 18 brick passages on which the bridge has been made. It is considered to be an architectural marvel and is one of the most historical tourist attractions of Puri in this day and age. It defines Odisha’s engineering marvel of the ancient times and is truly the gateway into this beautiful city.