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BERHAMPUR: Thousands of devotees from across the state and neighbouring Andhra Pradesh visited the 500-year-old Ganesh temple in Ganjam district to celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi' on Sunday. The historic temple is located about 15 km from here.
At least seven platoons of forces were on duty to maintain law and order situation in the tiny village. Locals allege, neither the tourism nor archaeology department has shown any interest to tap the potential of this religious place and promote it as a tourist attraction.
"The place is crowded not just on Ganesh Chaturthi but also on Shankranti at the end of every month. Several people come to this picturesque place for picnics," said a villager.
MLA Pradeep Panigrahi said, "I will discuss the issue with tourism minister Debi Prasad Mishra. I hope to turn the place into a major tourist centre and include it in the proposed Gopalpur tourism circuit."
The place is unique because the deity is placed inside a huge ficus tree. The 500-year-old tree still stands strong. However, locals say another banyan tree near the temple has now been uprooted.
Historians say the temple was built by King Purushottam Dev during his Kanchi invasion to marry Princess Padmabati, daughter of the King of Kanchi. The king is believed to have a celestial voice in his sleep that instructing him to appease Lord Ganesh before leaving the place. If the elephant God was pleased, the princess would surely be his, was the prophecy.
The king along with his troops then looked for the Lord Ganesh idol. After a long search they discovered the idol and under a tree. He worshipped it and after returning from Kanchi built a temple there. As per his orders, five Roula' (a class of servitors in the state) families were engaged to perform daily rituals in the temple. In the course of time many devotees gave donations for the improvement of the temple. Some years back, the temple committee built another temple on the premises.
BERHAMPUR: Thousands of devotees from across the state and neighbouring Andhra Pradesh visited the 500-year-old Ganesh temple in Ganjam district to celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi' on Sunday. The historic temple is located about 15 km from here.
At least seven platoons of forces were on duty to maintain law and order situation in the tiny village. Locals allege, neither the tourism nor archaeology department has shown any interest to tap the potential of this religious place and promote it as a tourist attraction.
"The place is crowded not just on Ganesh Chaturthi but also on Shankranti at the end of every month. Several people come to this picturesque place for picnics," said a villager.
MLA Pradeep Panigrahi said, "I will discuss the issue with tourism minister Debi Prasad Mishra. I hope to turn the place into a major tourist centre and include it in the proposed Gopalpur tourism circuit."
The place is unique because the deity is placed inside a huge ficus tree. The 500-year-old tree still stands strong. However, locals say another banyan tree near the temple has now been uprooted.
Historians say the temple was built by King Purushottam Dev during his Kanchi invasion to marry Princess Padmabati, daughter of the King of Kanchi. The king is believed to have a celestial voice in his sleep that instructing him to appease Lord Ganesh before leaving the place. If the elephant God was pleased, the princess would surely be his, was the prophecy.
The king along with his troops then looked for the Lord Ganesh idol. After a long search they discovered the idol and under a tree. He worshipped it and after returning from Kanchi built a temple there. As per his orders, five Roula' (a class of servitors in the state) families were engaged to perform daily rituals in the temple. In the course of time many devotees gave donations for the improvement of the temple. Some years back, the temple committee built another temple on the premises.
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