The upcoming temple of International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) on the Beach Road at Sagar Nagar is being tipped to be a tourist booster.
The stretch from RK Beach to Bheemunipatnam has been in focus of the government, and plans are afoot to make the stretch more attractive to the tourists. And the temple, which is being built on 2,900 sq. yards, falls in the mid-point of the stretch.
According to president and project director of ISKCON, Visakhapatnam, Samba Das, the Radha-Krishna temple will be the biggest in South India with about 20,000 sft carpet area.
Apart from housing the signature deities of Radha- Krishna, Narasimha Dev, Jagannath- Balabadhra- Subhadra, Goura-Nitai, and Lord Balaji, the temple will have a number of value addition features.
The main temple hall will have a double ‘parikrama’, and the outer ‘parikrama’ will have a grand sea view from an elevated position.
This apart, the temple will have an underwater meditation hall.
The hall will be covered by glass with water flowing in all the four directions. Mythological figures and live fish will adorn the interiors.
“It is going to be a place for spiritual solace,” said Mr. Samba Das.
The main temple will also have a kalyanamandapam that would accommodate over 1,500 people at a time.
These apart, Vedic planetarium, tram ride to Goloka, and audio-visual library would be the other attractions not only to the devotes but also tourists.
“Negotiations are on with our counterparts in Russia to build the tram ride project,” said Mr. Samba Das.
“The tram ride is a reality ride, which would give people an experience of the good and the bad world,” the local president of ISKCON said.
The temple complex will also house a pure vegetarian restaurant, a naturopathy dispensary, and Bhaktivedanta Kala Kshetram.
The entire project, which is estimated to cost between Rs.40 core and Rs. 45 crore, is being funded on donations from all segments, and will be completed in three phases.
“We intend to complete the first phase by 2018 February. It will take another two years to complete the remaining two phases,” said Mr. Samba Das.
