Bhubaneswar: Chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday approved Rs 100 crore for development of Nilamadhav shrine at Kantilo in Nayagarh district.
Extending his approval to the master plan of the project at a high-level meeting, here, the chief minister directed to complete the work in 18 months and appealed to the people to cooperate in development of the temple.
Under the project, renovation of the temple and its peripheral development will be taken up. The steps leading to the temple will be streamlined for convenience of devotees and a ramp constructed for differently abled people. The road on east side of the temple will be widened to 9 metre and that on western side to 12 metre.
All the four gates of the temple will be renovated. The Chandan pond on the temple premises will also be cleaned and developed with amenities like parks and gardens around it.
As per the master plan, there will be lift and skybridge facilities for elderly people and physically challenged persons. The temple premises and its surrounding areas will be paved with Khandolite stones. Besides, Rasbihari Mandap, Raghunath Mutt and Bata Mangala temple in the town will also be developed as part of the project.
A 400-metre protective wall will also be constructed to protect the shrine from erosion due to ingress of river Mahanadi on which bank it is situated.
It may be noted that on the direction of the chief minister, 5T secretary VK Pandian had visited Nilamadhav temple last week. He had held discussion with the servitors, local people and district administration and sought their suggestions regarding development of the shrine for preparing the master plan.
