Govt plans Rs 100 cr project near Dhauli to boost tourism

State has been showcasing four key Buddhist sites where Ashokan era rock edicts have been found

The Odisha government is planning a theme centre and other facilities near Buddhist heritage site Dhauli with an investment of over Rs 100 crore to attract tourists to the state.

“We are in the process of acquiring around 100 acre land near Dhauli hill. We will build a theme centre and an interpretation facility depicting the Kalinga War scenes there to attract tourism,” said Ashok Panda, minister for culture and tourism with the state government at the 3rd edition of International Conference on Buddhist Heritage of Odisha here.

The state government has been actively engaged with national and international level tour operators to showcase the four key Buddhist sites in the state-Ratnagiri, Dhauligiri, Udayagiri and Langudia, where Ashokan era rock edicts have been found along with other prominent Buddhist sites in the country. “We have proposed to the Centre to promote Buddhist circuit sites in Odisha along with Bodhgaya, Sarnath and other places in the country. We have sought the response of the Union civil aviation minister for air connectivity to nations such as Thailand, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Japan where lot of people practice Buddhism,” added Panda.

There are around half a billion people across the globe who are Buddhist. Due to lack of awareness and inaccessibility, they are unable to see the rich Buddhist culture of Odisha, opined tour operators and hoteliers present in the seminar.

“We will prepare a detailed study about providing air connectivity for Bhubaneswar international airport, where, for some reasons, still domestic flights are operating. We will prepare the report within two months and submit it to the Odisha government,” said Subhas Goyal, president of Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO), which represents 11 global airlines in India.    

Despite its rich traditional heritage of Buddhist and other culturally landmark sites, Odisha has not been able to tap the full potential of the tourism inflow. In 2014, total inbound tourists to the state was 10.8 million, against 9.8 million in the previous calendar year. Still, the state is lagging far behind states such as Rajasthan, which attracts nearly 30 million domestic and international tourists per year.

“Accessibility, infrastructure and marketing are the three areas we are focusing to boost tourism of Odisha. The state government will come up with various schemes in the upcoming budget to support tourism infrastructure in the state,” said Arabinda Padhi, tourism and culture secretary present in the event.