Bhubaneswar, Sept. 2: Odisha Tourism has now started developing various new sites on the coastal belt after emphasising on the Golden Triangle (Bhubaneswar, Puri and Konark) and other places nearby.

With an aim to include two prominent religious regions — Jajpur and Bhadrak districts — the tourism authorities have chalked out a plan to form a package tour to Akhandalamani at Aradi and Goddess Biraja in Jajpur town.

The state government recently took stock of the tourism scenario in Jajpur district and decided to pump in more funds so that apart from the major Buddhist sites, other destinations also get equal importance in the tourism map.

Established in the 13th Century by King Jajati Keshari, Jajpur is one of the prominent places for worship of female power or Shakti cult, while Biraja Peetha (temple of Goddess Biraja) is a famous shrine. Other sites such as Sweta Baraha (incarnation of Lord Vishnu as the white boar) and Saptamatruka are located along the Baitarani river. The Dasaswamedha Ghat on the bank of the Baitarani is also a sacred place where people perform religious rites for their ancestors.

On the other hand, Akhandalamani in Bhadrak has a Shiva shrine. Lord Akhandalamani is worshiped in the temple, which is nearly 350 years old. Legend says a farmer was ploughing his field when a hard substance was felt on the ground and he saw blood oozing out. He informed the local ruler Raja Sri Niladri Samara Singha Mohapatra, who rushed to the spot. However, the team of the royals and local residents could only find a stream of milk near the spot. They also recovered a “lingam” from the place made of black granite. Realising that the sacred place has links with Lord Shiva, the king ordered construction of a temple and stones were procured from Lalitgiri and Chandikhol in Jajpur district. The ruler also ordered Brahmin families from the nearby Naharagrama to look after the religious rituals of Lord Akhandalamani.

Apart from Goddess Biraja in Jajpur town, famous shrines such as Ashokajhar, Chandikhol, Bhhatia bata, Gokarnika, Kuransa, Mahavinayak, Patharajpur, Satyapira, Singhapur, Vyas Sarovar and Baruneswar Peetha are also crowd pullers in the district.

“The state tourism department will include all major places in the package once it gets the acceptance of the local people. However, there is flexibility in providing personalised services with choice to have smaller vehicles for smaller troupes and buses for bigger groups. The tours will be conducted in air-conditioned vehicles,” said Alok Mishra, marketing manager of Odisha Tourism Development Corporation (OTDC). The service will be launched on any day during the first two weeks of September and the charges will be Rs 815 per person.

In the past, while the Archaeological Survey of India conducted excavations at the Buddhist sites such as Ratnagiri, Lalitgiri and Udayagiri, the Odishan Institute of Maritime and Southeast Asian Studies excavated sites such as Tarapur, Deuli, Vajragiri, Radhanagar and many lesser-known spots. The tourism department has decided to develop infrastructure at Deuli, Neulapur, Tarapur, Kayama, Radhanagar, Vajragiri and Pauti.

Odisha Tourism will take up projects to develop heritage sites such as Jagannath temple at Sukindagarh, Katarakhai temple at Darpani, Baruneswar at Binjharpur, Narayani temple at Deoda, Palesvara temple at Palapada, Gokarneswar temple at Jarka, Hatakeswar temple at Nathgarh and Daria Nahaikani at Singhapur.

With its plan to develop old forts in Jajpur district, Odisha Tourism will take up conservation and infrastructure development at Teligarh and Amarabati forts. The state government is also planning to develop a four-lane road from Kuakhia to Biraja and from Biraja peetha to the famous Shiva shrine at Aradi famous for Lord Akhandalamani.

According to ancient scriptures, Odisha was divided into five religious regions. While Shaktikshetra was found around Biraja temple in Jajpur, Ekamrakshetra was found around Bhubaneswar, Srikshetra in Puri, Arkakshetra in Konark and Ganapatikshetra around Chandikhol. Based on the people’s love for Lord Ganesh, the Mahavinayak temple near Chandikhol could be developed as a major tourism site.

With Jajpur and Bhadrak districts sharing a common boundary and Bhitarkanika’s proximity to Akhandalamani and famous Buddhist shrines such as Lalitgiri, Ratnagiri and Udayagiri in Jajpur district, this package has got good potential to attract tourists from India and outside.

“Innovative ideas from the OTDC authorities can make the plan interesting. They should also try to include other important places in this plan so that all major destinations are covered through package tours,” said tour operator Srikant Mishra.