Berhampur: The Pratistha Mahotsav of the renovated Taratarini Temple on the majestic Kumari Hills on the bank of River Rusikulya has started with full pomp and splendor. The centuries old temple has been an important place of worship for the people of Ganjam and other places. Due to its significance and the potential of being transformed into one of the important religious places of the country, there was a need to develop it with new infrastructure and facilities. In 2002, as the MLA of Hinjili, under which constituency the Taratarini Temple belonged then, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik sanctioned amount of Rs 35 lakhs for the development of the temple. And thereafter, the pace of development accelerated with the cooperation of the district administration and the people of Ganjam. A dream project of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, the transformation of the Taratarini Shrine included construction of a new grand temple with Kalingan architecture, development of tourist amenities such as waiting rooms, prasad mandap, renovation of Singhadwar, pathway with drinking water facilities, interpretation centre, mundan hall and public toilets besides renovation of hilltop temple premises.
The development of the Taratarini Shrine has brought it to the league of other big temples of the country. Due to its significance as an important Shakti Pitha of the country, there is no doubt that it will become one of the most visited shrines in the country very soon. A look into the uninterrupted development process of the temple in the last two decades is also very inspiring.
The grand and beautiful Taratarini Temple we see today is not an outcome of days and months. It is a result of two decades of continuous efforts and hard work. Under the guidance of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and the conscientious Ganjam District administration, the Taratarini Temple could see its transformation into its present form.
During the initial days of the 21st century, the Taratarini shrine was just a small temple situated on the hilltop to where people had to take about a thousand steps to reach. There was just a small Singhadwara at the foothills and a rest room that was meant for just few people. The motorable narrow road build in 1966, helped some people to reach the Shrine on the hilltop with vehicles. It was a place of worship mainly for the people of Ganjam and south Odisha who also came to the shrine for the Mundan ceremony of their children. It was just known as a religious place. Among the attractions at the foothills were the centuries old statues of lions, Praharis and the Jugala murtis of Lord Siva and Parvati. There were also two Jwalamukhi statues at the Jagamohana in the entrance of the shrine.
When Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik was the MLA from the area under the Hinjili Assembly Constituency, he granted an amount of Rs 35 lakhs for the development of the Taratarini Shrine. Once, the then Revenue Divisional Commissioner Arun Panda had gone on a visit to the Temple and was fascinated with its history, significance and location. In the subsequent meeting held, he told that the temple has ample opportunities for development and for being an important place of religion in Ganjam district. Situated amidst natural landscape, the religious place had all the potential for being transformed into a tourist place. He advised the district administration to make it an important tourist destination. Along with the grants from the Chief Minister, efforts were made by people to collect money from various sources. A specially designed chariot was made showcasing a model of the transformed temple, which visited various places and collected money given by the devotees.
Detailed discussions on the transformation of the Taratarini temple were held in meetings between January and February in the year 2003 and the Taratarini Development Board was established subsequently. The master plan prepared for the development of the Taratarini temple entailed a budget of Rs five Crore initially. It was the dawn of a new era for the temple afterwards and there has been no looking back. In the last twenty years, the state government has sanctioned about Rs 117 crore for the development of the Taratarini Temple. The magnificent new temple has come over the old temple. Large stones were brought to the hilltop and workers crafted intricate carvings to make it an outstanding architectural marvel. Situated on a height of 700 foot from the sea level, the temple works progressed under the guidance and supervision of Padma Shri Raghunath Mahapatra. A grand Gate or the Singhadwara on the styles of the famous Mukteswara temple today welcomes the devotees.
In the initial days, the temple slowly took the new shape under the supervision of RDCs like Arun Panda and Satyabrata Sahu along with Collectors like Santosh Satapathy, G Mathi Vathanan, Sanjeeb Kumar Mishra , Sanjay Kumar Singh and VK Pandian. As Collector of Ganjam, V K Pandian laid the foundation stone of the development works of the temple. Present Collector Vijay Amruta Kulange has laid the foundation of the Pratistha Mahotsav. Though there were changes in administration during the last two decades, the works related to the temple continued uninterrupted.
A ropeway project was also initiated later for the devotees which helped in attracting more people to the shrine. There have been many review meetings and spot visits by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Chief Secretary Suresh Chandra Mahapatra, 5T Secretary V K Pandian and other senior officers.
The potentials for the Taratarini Temple becoming an international standard tourist attraction strengthened when in 2020 Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik paid a visit to the Shrine and approved the proposal of redevelopment of Taratarini Temple. He also inaugurated the 3D model of the newly transformed temple. It became obvious that in the coming years, the Taratarini Temple will be transformed into an international standard tourist destination. It has become a reality today and the Chief Minister is going to attend the Pratistha Mahotsav of the Temple on Wednesday.
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