Sonepur: Speakers at a seminar on Sonepur tourism and development unequivocally expressed that though the district had immense tourism potential, it was not properly exploited.

The speakers said Sonepur was a place, which ideally suited spiritual tourism, river tourism and ecotourism.

Places such as Patali Srikshetra, Sunya temple at Khaliapali, Mahakaleswar temple in Baidyanath, Sashisena shrine and the 108 temples, including the Asta Sambhu, Asta Chandi and the Asta Vishnu temples, make Sonepur a place of spiritual and historical importance. Yet, poor maintenance and the indifferent attitude on part of the administration and the government have taken a toll on the tourism aspect as hardly any tourist visits these places.

The district council of culture and the department of language, literature and culture organised the seminar on the occasion of Subarna Lok Mahotsav at the town hall here on Wednesday.

Speaking on the occasion, historian Sudam Naik said: It is very unfortunate that though Sonepur is filled with possibilities, which can be milestones on the tourism map of Odisha, we are yet to exploit the potential. The temples, monuments, river and rock inscriptions make Sonepur a perfect place to promote tourism."

Naik further said Sonepur was a prayag (confluence) like Allahabad, where three rivers namely the Mahanadi, Tel and the Karpura met.

"Abundance of water and the scenic beauty of these rivers can be exploited for boating and other water sports. Sonepur has lot of potential for river tourism as well. This is high time the Sonepur people rose to the wake-up call," said the historian, who has penned a number of books on the history of Sonepur.

Another speaker, Jatindra Dash, highlighted the tie and dye art, paintings and films for which Sonepur had carved a niche in the state. "Sonepur has contributed a lot to the world of tie and dye, cinema and arts in the state. All these have to be tagged with tourism. Media and the peoples' representatives must act together to make it possible," Dash said.

The Sonepur district rural development agency's project director Surya Narayan Dash emphasised on rural tourism as he spoke about various rural arts such as pottery and metal casting. Among other district culture officer Ashok Kumar Mishra also spoke on the occasion.