Ropeway service soon at Odisha’s Patali Srikhetra

Sambalpur: In a bid to attract more number of tourists to Patali Srikhetra, which is associated with Lord Jagannath of Puri, in Subarnapur district, a ropeway service will be started soon.

The ropeway will be built by the Western Odisha Development Council (WODC) at Patali Srikhetra located on Trikuta hills, informed WODC Chairman Kishore Mohanty at a press meeting here on Sunday.

With the construction of the ropeway, it will connect the foothill of Trikuta hills with the cave where the idols of Lord Jagannath and his siblings were kept hidden for 144 years to dodge attacks during Muslim invasions in Odisha.

The Odisha Construction Corporation (OCC) will invite a tender for the ropeway project with an estimated cost of Rs 10.27 crore.

The place where the idols were hidden at the hill is situated at a height of 500 meters from the foothill of Trikuta hill. It’s a tough journey for the tourists to reach the shrine and get darshan of the Lords.

A Detailed Project Report (DPR) has already been prepared. There will be four trolleys to ferry the tourists between the two places. If everything goes smoothly as per the plan, the foundation stone for the project will be laid on December 28, said Mohanty.

The ropeway will boost tourism as the tourists can easily visit the cave after completion of the project, he added.