The crafts bazaar in Dhauli. Picture by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, Oct. 31: Dhauli crafts bazaar, a tourist attraction near the international peace pagoda on the city outskirts, will open to visitors from the first week of November.

Eighteen kiosks will be pitched here to showcase various traditional art and crafts of the state, especially the coastal region and the Golden Triangle encompassing Bhubaneswar, Puri and Konark. Various craftsmen will display their wares and are even expected to demonstrate the making of their artistic creations.

The district administration, in association with the tourism department, has formed the Dhauli Development Society, which will look into the infrastructure requirements of the site and suggest measures to make it more tourist-friendly.

Tourist officer of Bhubaneswar, Sasanka Rath, who is also the managing secretary of the society, said that apart from the crafts bazaar, the existing makeshift shops and souvenir outlets along the steps of the Peace Pagoda would be shifted to one place, some 50 metres away from the Panthika. Panthika is a small accommodation facility on Dhauli Hills for tourists.

“All the shops will be allocated equal space amidst the green cover and the design of the shops will be in accordance with the surroundings,” he said.

Rath said Khurda district collector and the chairman of the society had instructed agencies associated with the development of Dhauli and its surroundings to ensure that the place was not polluted by polythene packets. “At present, the makeshift shops and souvenir outlets are generating a lot of polythene, but after they are shifted, the problem will be solved. The shops will be moved by January,” he said.

Senior engineer of the tourism department J.K. Das said the development process of Dhauli would be undertaken in several phases. In the current phase, the road near the Asoka pillar, pathways, crafts bazaar, convenience facilities at three places, dedicated bus and four-wheeler parking near the lake, pathways from the Peace Pagoda to Ganesh Ghat on Daya river and a sculpture park have been included. Nearly Rs 3 crore has been allocated. In the next phase, another Rs 3 crore is likely to be spent on the development of the famous Buddhist site.

All public convenience points have been equipped with ramps to make them accessible to the differently-abled. A type of tiles has been laid in the centre of the ramps for the visually challenged.

Talking about the placement of a huge Buddha statue in the centre of the lake, Das said: “No discussion has taken place regarding the artist who will install the statue. A 40-feet-long sleeping Buddha statue, made of fibre glass, will be placed atop a flat rock bed in front of the crafts bazaar.”