The temple at Budharaja Reserve forest in Sambalpur

Sambalpur, Sept. 20: The Budharaja Reserve Forest, which is located in the heart of the city, will get a facelift shortly.

The forest department is planning to carry out several developmental works in the reserve forest, which is a major tourist destination of Sambalpur.

The step has been initiated with an intention to increase the tourist footfall in the beautiful forest, which spread across 63 hectares.

The famous Budharaja temple located on the hilltop attracts thousands of tourists and devotees from across the state. The road to the hilltop, from where one can get the bird’s view of the city, is also another attraction of the place.

However, to make the place more attractive, the forest department is planning to develop a jogging track, memorial park, a watchtower and a cafeteria in the forest. Moreover, the department is also planning to construct a boundary wall around the forest to save it from encroachment.

The forest department has already started the process to clear encroachments around the reserve forest. Recently, the forest department also conducted a survey to ascertain the extent of encroachment in the forest. During the survey, the forest department found that around 252 houses had been constructed illegally on the land of the Budharaja Reserve Forest area.

The survey also revealed that around 700 encroachers were enrolled in the electoral roll and majority of 252 households had availed the power and water supply connection. “We will begin the developmental works in the Budhraja Reserve Forest after we evict the encroachers from the forest,” said town range officer S.C. Khuntia.

“It is a good news that the forest department is planning to construct a boundary wall surrounding the reserve forest. The scenic beauty of the hill and the historical significance of the place always attract thousands of tourists. If the proposals are materialised, the place will attract more number of tourists,” said Karunakar Singh, a visitor to the Budharaja temple.

“Many city residents go to the Buharaja hilltop for morning and evening walks. Moreover, several people of the city also visit this place in the evening to spend a peaceful time there. The Budharaja Reserve Forest is a good location place to develop a jogging track,” said a local resident Laxmidhar Das.