Bhubaneswar: The concrete bridge to Dhabaleswar temple at Athagarh in Odisha’s Cuttack district is nearing completion and will be opened to the public soon.
Sanjay Kumar Singh, principal secretary, Rural Development department took stock of the progress of the bridge works during a visit on Saturday. The bridge will be opened to the public after final touches, he said.
Stating that the bridge will facilitate the communication of the people, he expressed optimism that it would lead to increase in flow of devotees and tourists to the shrine. “The temple is located amid beautiful natural scenery and can prove to be a major tourist attraction after ensuring secured communication to it,” he said.
The bridge measuring 276 metre in length and 6.2 metre in width has been constructed with a cost of Rs 22.28 crore. It stretches from Mancheswar village to Dhabaleswar temple. Two connecting roads of 360 metre to the bridge have also been constructed.
The temple, located on an island of Mahanadi river, was inaccessible to devotees on boat or the suspension bridge. The suspension bridge has been closed for repair work after detection of cracks by an expert team since November last year.
