Bhubaneswar, April 21: If the state government has its way, travel time between Puri and Khandagiri-Udaygiri will come down drastically.

Plan is on to construct a new road linking Dhauli hills with the Sundarpada-Jatni Road that leads to the caves. Now, visitors en route the Khandagiri Square in the capital goes via Rasulgarh square that is around 20km from Dhauli.

Once the new Dhauli-Ebaranga link road becomes a reality, vehicles going to Khandagiri hills from Puri can take the Sundarpada-Jatni Road and reach the historic cave site from Dhauli via Bhimatangi, Pokhariput, Gandamunda and Jagamara reducing the distance by almost half and travel time by nearly 20 minutes or more.

As part of the project, a bridge needs to be built over river Daya near Ganesh Ghat and the design for the same is almost complete. The foundation stone will also be laid shortly. The government is also undertaking a survey for the four km road, which will connect the Ganesh Ghat and Ebaranga.

Talking to The Telegraph, Tourism minister Ashok Chandra Panda, who is also the MLA of Bhubaneswar (Ekamra) and under whose constituency comes Dhauli and its nearby localities, said: "The bridge at Ganesh Ghat will cost around Rs 8 to 10 crore and the four km road another Rs 10 crore. However, acquiring the land for the road will be a challenging job and a costly affair. The survey will suggest whether more government land could be taken for the project and this will cut down the cost."

Panda also hinted that once the tender papers were ready for the bridge, the work could start for the vital link in three to four months.

Bhimatangi resident Chhabindra Jena said: "This new road will not only boost tourism, but also help the entire Kapileswar, Sundarpada and Ebaranga zone, which has only one major road linking Jatni with Bhubaneswar."

Public works department executive engineer (division II) Prashant Patra said: "The road connecting the bridge with Ebaranga will cost around Rs 2.5 crore per kilometre. This is because embankments need to be built on both the sides as Daya river is prone to flooding. "

Tour operator Debashish Mohapatra said: "The link between Dhauli and Khandagiri-Udayagiri via the Jatni-Sundarpada road and Pokhariput-Khandagiri road will definitely boost tourism."

Tourists from Puri after visiting Dhauli and Khandagiri-Udayagiri can visit Chilika taking the Bhubaneswar-Khurda road via NH-5.

"The new road is going to change the tourism scenario in Old Bhubaneswar as well," said Suryanarayan Das, a resident of Gangotri Nagar.

The government is also planning to build another road from Ebaranga to connect the All India Institute of Medical Sciences.