Sita Utsav to attract tourists to Daringbadi, the 'Kashmir of Odisha'

BHUBANESWAR: If you want to experience the chill of hill stations and charm of pine forests, the aroma of coffee gardens amid lush green valleys, pack your bags for Daringbadi.

The state government plans to hold the three-day Sita Utsav to popularize the scenic Daringbadi and attract tourists to the spot. The festival will start on Friday.

The aim is to make popular such lesser known tourist places like Daringbadi, which is popularly known as the Kashmir of Odisha. Tourism in Odisha has become confined mostly to coastal places so we decided to hold Sita Utsav on the lines of the winter festivals being held in other states.

The festival will host a series of cultural events, including dance and musical extravaganza, an artists' camp, a poet's meet (Kavi sammelan), with special focus on Kandhamal. Major state-run cultural organizations such as Lalit Kala Akademi, Sangeet Natak Akademi and Sahitya Akademi will jointly host a series of programmes to make the place prominent on the tourism and cultural map of Odisha.

We want to make this festival different from other cultural festivals being held in the state in terms of performances and style of presentations. The programmes have been planned accordingly so that visitors get complete satisfaction of their holidays along with being entertained.

The nearby places for sight-seeing include coffee and pine plantations, a waterfall at Dasingbadi about 15km from Daringbadi, another waterfall at Ranipanga 22km from Daringbadi. Sonepur valley, a stretch of forests on the Daringbadi-Dasingbadi road, is only 12km from the hill town. Besides, visitors can also enjoy the scenic beauty of Mandasaru valley.