Berhampur: Maa Budhi Thakurani Temple, the presiding deity of Silk City, is about to be renovated, sources said on Tuesday. The issue was discussed during District Collector Dibya Jyoti Parida’s visit to the temple on Monday. The collector walked around the temple and talked to the priests about the facilities that need to be developed for the temple. He also studied the plan prepared for the renovation and upgrading of the temple and ordered that the first phase of work begin immediately. Parida also ordered officials to arrange for smooth parking of vehicles outside the temple premises.
In the second phase, he said, an eviction campaign will be launched to eliminate illegal encroachments. Municipal Commissioner J Sonal of the Berhampur Municipal Corporation (BeMC) said an architectural firm has been commissioned to renovate the temple. A plan has been prepared for this purpose, he said. Sambit Rout, secretary of the Berhampur Development Authority (BDA), said the modernization of the Budhi Thakurani Temple will be taken over by the same craftsmen who had worked on the renovation of the Taratarini Temple. Reports say that the state tourism department sanctioned Rs 1.15 crore for the renovation of Budhi Thakurani Temple in the financial year 2014-15.
However, the funds were revoked as no work was undertaken then for the development of the temple. The district administration convened a high-level meeting and discussed the temple renovation project on June 4 this year. Parida also visited the Ambapua Rock Garden and the Gosaninuagaon Bedha embankment and had discussions on the renovation and upgrading of the two sites. V Keerthi Vasan, Sub Collector, Berhampur, Basant Kumar Padhi, Executive Engineer, BeMC, tehsildar Rabindra Mishra and other senior officials were present during Parida’s visit.
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