Puri: With the transformation of the peripheral areas of Sri Jagannath temple in full swing, the government is planning facelift of the important Gundicha temple. The temple is an important place for devotees and pilgrims coming to Puri and is the Birth Place of Lord Jagannath. During the World famous Ratha Yatra, lakhs of people come to the Gundicha temple for darshan of Lord Jagannath.
According to sources, the Bhitarabedha and Baharabedha along with the Ananda Bazaar will be renovated. The administration is contemplating putting up a landscape garden in the Temple premises. All this developments will be done according to the temple culture and architecture. There will be advanced lighting system for the temple.
The district administration as planned to transform the temple as soon as possible. The Sri Jagannath Temple administration is expected to spend an amount of 14 crore for this and expects to complete the works by October this year.
Gundhicha Temple, also known as the Adapa Mandapa, is the birthplace of Sri Jagannath. During the annual Ratha Yatra, Lord Jagannath along with his Brother Balabhadra and Sister Subhadra come to this temple for nine days and all rituals are carried out in the temple. All the dilapidated structure inside the temple premises will be removed.
The present Ananda Bazaar will be demolished and a new multi floor building will be constructed in the place to provide a wider space for the pilgrims. The Ananda Bazaar and the Prasad Hall will be of 4950 square foot and 6300 square foot respectively. This will be constructed with an expenditure of nearly six crore rupees. The remaining 54 thousand square feet area inside the temple will be renovated and landscape will be created at a cost of One Crore 17 Lakh rupees. There will also be space for temple office, store and other necessary things near the south eastern corner near the Bhitarabedha of the temple. The inside wall of the temple will be covered with stone carvings that will illustrate the narratives of Sri Jagannath and other cultural information. This will cost about One crore rupees. The transformation also includes lying of new stone flooring around the temple and replacing the damaged stones wherever required.
The Sri Jagannath Temple administration will undertake the transformation work this monthand expects to complete it by October 2020. The district administration led by Collector Balwant Singh has been taking all necessary steps for the transformation of Puri into a World heritage city.