Bhubaneswar, Sept. 9: Chief minister Naveen Patnaik today inaugurated the much-awaited light and sound show at Sun Temple in Konark.

Through the show, tourists will be able to learn the history and religious significance of the mystical temple, believed to have been built by King Narasimha Dev I in 1255. India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) developed the show.

There will be three shows every day with and accommodate 250 people and the cost will be included in the ticket price.

Earlier, the show was to be held on the land adjacent to the main temple on the left where the temple kitchen used to function from in the past. Instead, it will now be held in front of the temple and the natya mandir (dancing hall). The decision was taken as scaffoldings from the land earmarked earlier was yet to be removed.

According to directions from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), which is in charge of conserving the World Heritage Site, ITDC decided not to install speakers in the temple's inner courtyard.

Instead, tourist will be provided with headphones during ticket booking. While eight high-definition projectors with 3D projection mapping technology have been procured, the light and sound shows will be of 35-minute duration that would use laser technology. The shows will be in English, Odia and Hindi, but unlike the one at Dhauli, visitors will have the choice of selecting the language at the time of buying tickets.

At Dhauli, three shows in different languages are held during different times of the day.

'Visitors will not have to wait for the show in a particular language at the Sun Temple. While buying the ticket, they can choose their preferred language option and the headphones will be set accordingly,' said A.K. Gupta, former ITDC director, who had prepared the modalities of the project.

Sekhar Suman has done the voiceover in Hindu, Kabir Bedi has lent his voice for the English script and Bijay Mohanty recorded the Odia one.

Although the project was sanctioned in 2014, along with light and sound shows at Dhauli Shanti Stupa and Khandagiri-Udayagiri caves, it could not be implemented due to technical delays and clearances from the ASI.