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Odisha is full of tourist places in its various parts. Though the State government is boasting of spending crores of rupees in developing the infrastructure of those places, the reality check is something different. Sans motorable roads, most of those tourist places in Odisha have almost become inaccessible to tourists across the globe.
Take the example of the rare Chandipur sea beach where a unique phenomenon is seen. The sea recedes by as much as five kilometres every day on the Chandipur beach in eastern India. Thousands of tourists across the globe throng the beach in winter to witness the unique phenomenon.
However, the famous tourist place has lost its sheen due to poor road communication facilities. The road running to the tourist place is full of craters, potholes and puddles. The roads are often waterlogged with little amount of rain making the stretch a nightmare for the commuters. Wild bushes have also covered both the sides of the roads. Cattle often obstruct the road leading to several accidents on a daily basis.
Though Chandipur Sea Beach is one of the most attractive tourist places in the State, the absence of a motorable road to the place has irked the local residents and tourists. Moreover, the tourist place has started losing its attraction as there is no proper arrangement to keep the place neat and clean.
“The place is pretty unhygienic. This could be one of the reasons why tourists are not coming in large numbers to the place. If cleanliness is not maintained at the spot, there will be a further decrease in the number of tourists at the spot,” said Sujata Mishra, a tourist from West Bengal.
“So many accidents are happening and people are losing their valuable lives due to the poor condition of the road. Local people and tourists are facing lots of problems due to the absence of proper road communication,” said Pradeep Mohapatra, a resident of Chandipur.
Meanwhile, District Tourism Officer Sitanshu Sekhar Das has assured that the approaching road towards Chandipur will be repaired soon.
“I will write to the Collector of Balasore to take necessary steps for repairing the road towards Chandipur at the earliest,” said Das.
Similar is the case of the road to Aradi in Bhadrak district where the famous Shiva shrine Akhandalamani Temple is located. Though the 36km long stretch of road from Aradi Square to the temple is coming under State Way, the poor condition of the road has turned it into a death trap.
Minister Prafulla Mallik had laid the foundation stone for the expansion of the road in last December. A budget of Rs 40 crore was allocated for the project which was expected to be finished within two years of time. However, no work has been undertaken yet.
“The road has turned into a death trap. Many accidents are taking place on the road on a daily basis. We request the administration to finish the road work at the earliest for the betterment of local people and many tourists across the country,” said Kisan Rout, a local resident.
“As many as 70 percent of the 36km long stretch road belongs to Dhamnagar constituency. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has taken responsibility for the constituency. If the condition of the road in the constituency remains like this, there will be huge protests by people in coming days and I will also be part of the protest,” said Dhamnagar MLA Suryabanshi Suraj.
