Sambalpur, April 23: Work on the much-awaited ropeway project which will connect Jawahar Udyan with Gandhi Minar at Hirakud has begun here.

Jawahar Udyan is a park in Hirakud town, around 12km from Sambalpur, while Gandhi Minar is a tower at the Hirakud Dam site. Both the places, looked after by the main dam division, attract thousands of tourists every year. The ropeway project is expected to boost tourism in the region and help attract more visitors. The survey for the project was completed in 2014.

"We have engaged Calcutta-based Damodar Ropeways and Infra Limited to install the ropeway. They started the primary work on Friday," said Odisha Construction Corporation senior manager Loknath Mohanty. He said it would take around a year to complete the work.

"Four towers will be installed under the project - two at Jawahar Udyan and two at Gandhi Minar. The distance between Gandhi Minar and Jawahar Udyan is around 421 metres. There will be 12 cabins to travel on the ropeway. Each cabin will accommodate four passengers. While six cabins will be used for taking people from Jawahar Udyan to Gandhi Minar, another six cabins will be used to bring them back," added Mohanty.

"The installation of the towers at Jawahar Udyan will begin shortly. We have begun the process to get clearance from the forest department, which is required to installation the towers at Gandhi Minar. We are hopeful of getting the clearance shortly," Mohanty added.

The Mahanadi Coalfields Limited has already allocated around Rs 5 crore for the project, which is estimated to cost Rs 6.26 crore. They have also agreed to provide the remainder of the amount required for the project.

"Thousands of people regularly visit the park. During winter, it records footfall of around 5,000 tourists daily. Similarly, thousands throng the Gandhi Minar for a view of the Hirakud Dam from the top of the tower. The ropeway will be an added attraction for them. We are now waiting for the project to materialise. The concerned authority should expedite the work and materialise the proposal as soon as possible," said local resident Laxmikanta Sahu.

Water demand

Tension ran high in the Kamakhyanagar area of Dhenkanal district on Saturday after local residents blocked the Dhenkanal-Kamakhyanagar main road to protest against the government's failure to provide drinking water in the area.

Hundreds of women from the village blocked the road by placing buckets and water containers and demanding speedy provision of drinking water in the village.