Bhubaneswar, July 22: If hope is the dream of a waking man, as the great philosopher, Aristotle, has once said, Odisha, the scenic, serene and the sublime land of tourism opportunities is eying for more from the world tourism pie.

After an awakening campaign to promote Odisha’s tourism potential, the state government is working on a proposal for several potential World Heritage Sites . At present, the Sun temple at Konark is the only World Heritage Site in Odisha.

The present movement by the state government is perhaps the second major step after the proposal to link the Buddhist circuits of Lalitgiri, Udayagiri and Ratnagiri to Mahaparinirvan Express, the special train carrying tourists across the world in search of Buddhist heritage sites. The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) Ltd is running the train, which connects to all major Buddhist sites in central India.

State culture department director Sushil Kumar Das said: “While some sites are selected from cultural considerations, others are chosen from nature and wildlife point of view. However, all these are in a preliminary stage. The World Heritage Sites listing is an intricate process and it involves many steps. The Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary is already in the tentative list and the state government will file a dossier for the next step.”

The senior government official added while from natural sites Similipal, Mahendragiri and Chilika will be considered for the coveted list, Bhubaneswar and Puri have already been listed as heritage cities.

With the state having many major Buddhist sites, the government has listed Lalitgiri, Ratnagiri and Udayagiri as heritage sites. While Lalitgiri belongs to the first Century, Ratnagiri the sixth and Udayagiri the seventh. According to history, two merchants from Utkal Tapasu and Bhalika became the first disciples of Lord Buddha, who gave him a handful of eight strands of hair in return to the rice and honey cake they offered to him.

Another tourism official said: “Without mentioning Similipal, you cannot describe tourism in Odisha. Situated in Mayurbhanj district, the 2,750sqkm sanctuary is home to many unique plants, animals and interesting epiphytic orchid varieties. Valleys of green forests, grasslands, rich bio-diversity and riverine systems have made Similipal a beautiful tiger habitat, elephant site, national park, wildlife sanctuary and biosphere reserve designated Unesco.

Botanists working on research projects on forest vegetation of Similipal often get regular surprises to find species of Himalayan, northeastern and western Ghat species in Similipal, making it an ideal centre for forest growth. However, in general, it is of semi-evergreen to dry deciduous forest type where 1,076 plant species are found, including 94 species of wild orchids. Similipal has one of the largest wild orchid collections in eastern India.

Chilika lake, on the other hand, is not only a unique brackish water ecosystem, but a resting place for millions of birds from faraway lands as far as central Europe, Russia and China. The lake is also home to Irrawaddy dolphins.

In cultural considerations, the state government is planning to push Bhubaneswar as the Temple City. At present, Bhubaneswar is home to more than 300 temples with unique Odia architecture. Historians said the ancient Ekamrakshetra (old name of Bhubaneswar) had more than 1,000 temples.

“The city not only has so many temples, but it also is a unique place to have monuments pertaining to three religions, Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. The city has monuments dating back from third Century B.C. to modern era. We have been propagating this idea since years and it is an apt occasion to say that this decision is a good indication towards projecting the city in the international forum,’’ said city resident Piyush Ranjan Rout.

But the most interesting part of the World Heritage Site listing is that holy city Puri has got placed under the category of living heritage.

“Except Lingaraj, rituals are not performed on regular basis in most of the temples in Bhubaneswar. But in Puri, almost all temples, mutts, historical places are still being used. All the rituals, such as rath yatra, chandan yatra, dolapurnima, the different prasads their preparations and distributions all are being observed there in the same manner since the 11th Century,” said a tourism official.

Interestingly, the state government has also proposed inclusion of the handloom cluster in Bargarh, Sonepur and Boudh where more than 1,000 weavers have been living and creating marvels in different sari designs.