Bhubaneswar: Union Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Dharmendra Pradhan, will inaugurate the world-class tourist facilities and Interpretation Centre at Konark Sun Temple on April 1 coinciding with Utkal Divas celebration that commemorate the formation of Odisha as a separate province in 1936.
Announcing this at a press meet here on Wednesday, Subrata Barma, Executive Director and CEO Indian Oil Foundation (IOF), said the Foundation, a non-profit Trust fully funded by Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL), under the aegis on Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, has developed world class Interpretation Centre and Tourist facilitation Centre around UNESCO Wold Heritage Site of Sun Temple Konark at a cost of Rs 45 crore.
The Tourist Facilitation Centre is laced with adequate parking bay for buses, cars and two wheelers of the visiting tourists, driver’s facility block, ample public amenities like cafeteria, toilets and drinking water etc. the main avenue leading to the temple from outer ring road has been developed with paver block, water bodies and suitable landscaping.
Among others, Pritish Bharat, CGM, Indian Oil Corporation Ltd Odisha was also present at the press conference.
Billed as an architectural marvel of Eastern India and an exceptional symbol of India’s glorious cultural heritage, the Sun Temple of Konark is one of the important tourist attractions in the region.
As the Sun Temple stands as a testimony to the centuries-old heritage, there is an urgent and pressing need for further development of this magnificent temple. This led the Indian Oil Foundation to set the stage for creating world-class infrastructure facilities for Indian and foreign tourists alike.
IOF’s pioneering work under the guidance of the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas has made a radical improvement to the entire complex.
Creatively planned and constructed in association with Engineers Indian Limited (EIL), the Odisha Tourism Department and the Archaeological Society of India (ASI), it has evolved into a multi-faceted tourist hub.
