Puri: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday inaugurated the Rs 800-crore Jagannath Temple Heritage Corridor project in the presence of Gajapati Maharaj Dibyasingha Deb around Sri Jagannath Temple in Puri. As soon as CM Patnaik inaugurated the heritage corridor, Gajapati Maharaj Dibyasingha Deb offered the ‘Purna Ahuti’ to the three-day Maha Yajna, which began on Monday in the run up to the grand event.
The pilgrim town has been adorned with flowers, lights, and graffiti. The Jagannath Temple Heritage Corridor or the Srimandir Parikrama Project includes parking areas, Shree Setu (a bridge), Shree Danda (a road), running parallel to Bada Danda to ease pilgrim movement, pilgrimage centre, restroom facilities, cloakrooms, toilets and other amenities for visitors in and around the Jagannath temple. A large number of devotees from different parts of Odisha and the country had congregated here for the inaugural ceremony.
8 Key points about Puri Srimandir Heritage Corridor project
1. The project was conceived in 2016 and announced in December 2019.
2. The project got delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the issuance of draft by-laws by the National Monuments Authority (NMA) for the temple in January 2021 that prohibited any construction work within a 100-metre periphery of the temple.
3. The project is valued at Rs 3,700 crore. It includes sub-projects like the redevelopment of the SJTA building, parking places, Srimandir reception centre, Shree Setu, Jagannath cultural center, toilets, clock rooms, Badadanda heritage streetscape, beachfront development, Puri Lake, and Musa river revival plan.
4. The ‘Bada Danda’ has been adorned with ‘Jhoti Chita’ (traditional Odia art), and the stretch from the Yajna Mandapa towards all the four Dwaras (doors) of Srimandir has been decorated with flowers.
