ShriDharmendraPradhanunveilsfoundationplaque of Suryavan, a forest resort near Satkosia
By Tapaswini Sahoo
Sambalpur/Odisha, Nov 12 : ShriDharmendraPradhan, Hon’ble Member of Parliament (LokSabha), Sambalpur, today unveiled the foundationplaque of Suryavan, a forest resort being developed by Surya Eco Resorts Private Limited, a venture of Surya Hospitality Group, at Gurudhi in Angul district, beside the Satkosia landscape. Construction will take about two and a half years.
Present at this ceremony were the Hon’ble Member of Parliament for Dhenkanal, ShriRudra Narayan Pani; the Hon’ble Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Angul, ShriPratap Chandra Pradhan; the Hon’ble MLA for Pallahara and Chairman of the District Planning Committee, Shri Ashok Mohanty; the Hon’ble MLA for Chendipada, ShriAgastiBehera; the Hon’ble MLA for Jagatsinghpur, ShriAmarendra Das; the former Hon’ble MLA for Athamallik, ShriSanjeebSahu; the former Hon’ble Member of Parliament for Dhenkanal, Shri Mahesh Sahu; the Chairperson of Talcher Municipality, ShriPabitraBhutia; Dr. Mridula Thakur Pradhan; the ZonalManagerofPunjabNationalBank,ShriBhushanSharma;theSarpanchofSaradhapurGram Panchayat,Smt.LashmipriyaSahu.AndSamitimemberShriRadhakantaPalei,amongothers,was present. A large number of villagers from 10–11 panchayats in the vicinity of Satkosia also participated in this programme.
Welcomingtheguests,BiswajitPattnaik,ManagingDirector,said:“People travel thousands of kilometers in search of peace, clean air,the soundofariver andthe silence ofa forest.What theworldissearchingforisatourdoorstep.Theworldsimply does not know yet that it is here.”
Heexplainedthename:Surya,thesun,isthesourceofallenergy,withoutwhichnoforestcanexist; Vanistheforestthatturnsthatlightintolife.Theresort’slandmeetstheSatkosiaforestatitsrear, and Suryavan is designed as a natural extension of that landscape. “Many will call SuryavanOdisha’s first jungle resort,” he said. “We are not interested in being first. We want to be the one that belongs to this soil.”
For years Odisha was called “India’s best kept secret”. Echoing the state’s new call, “Think India, Think Odisha”, the Managing Director added a line of his own: think of Odisha, think of Central Odisha;thinkofCentralOdisha,thinkofSatkosia.HedescribedasinglecircuitfromDhenkanalto Athmallik, from Kapilas, Joranda and the Dhokra craft of Dhenkanal, through Talcher’sAnantashayan and MaaHingula, to the Mahanadi gorge of Satkosia, MaaBinkei, the Deulajhari hotspringsandtheMahanadisunsetsofAthmallik,andsaidthatoverthenexttwoandahalfyears the group would tell the stories of this circuit to the world.
Responsible Tourism is at the core of the project. Suryavan has received IGBC Platinum pre-certification for its green design and is being planned around the land’s natural slope, trees and water.Localyoungpeoplewillgetfirstpreferenceinjobsandtraining,andlocalproduceandcraft will reach the resort’s guests. The group also expressed its commitment to support, with the guidance of the government, Satkosia’s growth into one of the country’s leading tiger reserves and wildlife destinations.
TheceremonyfeaturedthefirstlookatSuryavanthroughawalkthroughfilm,andaCentralOdisha tourism film created by young storytellers Alok&Nihar, DT Originals. A sapling was also planted at the site, its sign reading: “Come back and see how I have grown.”
Proposing the voteof thanks, Mr. PritamPatnaik,Director, said: “A placewhose storynoonetells isaplacenoonevisits.AtithiDevoBhavaisnotonlythemantraofourbusiness;itisthecultureof this soil. Tomorrow, when the world comes to Odisha as our guest, we will not stand alone to welcome it. All of Central Odisha will stand with us.”
