BHUBANESWAR: The all new Debipadahara Park in the Old Town area was inaugurated by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Sunday.A deserted piece of land near the Debipadahara pond has been transformed into a beautiful park of around 12,000 square feet. A part of the landscape has been turned into an elevated viewing platform from where visitors can see the 100 lingams surrounding the pond. Old structures between the wall of the Lingaraj temple and Debipadahara pond have been demolished and visitors would be able to view the temple from the platform. The initiative was taken up by the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) as a part of the State Government’s decision to improve infrastructure around the Lingaraj temple. The project also envisages a 40-foot road from the backside of the park. Mallika Mitra, Director, INTACH - Bhubaneswar, said the State Government had approached the INTACH for periphery development of Debipadahara pond in 2007 under the 12th Finance Commission grant. The master plan was accordingly submitted and work assigned to INTACH. However, work began in 2010 due to land acquisition problems. “The master plan we submitted also includes some area of BMC which INTACH was not aware of. So, we had to do the master plan again and that took time,” she said. An amount of ` 30 lakh was spent on the park project and facelift to the ancient pond. “The elevated platform in the rear side of the pond was constructed so that the main attraction - the 100 lingams around the ancient pond - is visible to the tourists,” Mallika said. Separate tracks have been constructed for morning walkers.She said a special temple type vegetation has been developed in the park. The saplings of 12 varieties of flowers that are used in temple worship have been planted. After completion of the work, INTACH has handed over the park to the Tourism Department which has decided to hand it over to Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation for maintenance and security. The Chief Minister asked BMC to maintain the park and stressed the need for more such periphery development work around the Lingaraj temple campus. Before the beautification of the park near Debipadahara pond, the State Government had developed a heritage haat near the temple. There is also a proposal to restore the Lingaraj police station.
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