Puri: Pilgrims to the holy city of Puri are today much happier than ever as they are experiencing a change that has never been seen before. The State Government’s efforts to transform Puri into a pilgrim’s destination and give them a pious environment are slowly bearing fruits.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had recently assured that Puri will be made a world class heritage city.The efforts are seemed to be in that direction. The Chief Minister himself is looking after the development and transformation of the holy city and has assigned confidant and senior officers to look after the day to day efforts in the transformation process. All the efforts are being monitored real time.
The administration had recently declared a major portion of the Badadanda near the Singha Dwara of Jagannath Temple as a No Parking and No vending Zone. It also cleared the area of unauthorized encroachments and begging has been prohibited. The aim is to give the devotees a hassle free Darshan of the deities.
As part of its efforts to transform the city, every Sunday, the district administration along with the temple administration is organizing the Badadanda Utsav – a festival of religious fervour, in which local people along with the pilgrims coming to the city are participating in good numbers. There is chanting of Bhajans, Jhoti competition and many other initiatives.
This is a part of the greater plan by the government to transform the city into one of the best of the country. There is a plan to make over the whole Badadanda and the peripheral areas near to the Temple. The administration is also in the process of bringing in a cleaner beach with the Mo Beach initiative to attract more number of pilgrims and tourists.
The devotees visiting Puri are also happy with the initiative. According to a pilgrim from Howrah, “I have come to Puri many times to have Darshan of Lord Jagannath. This time I can see a major change especially near the temple. The area is much cleaner and the process of Darshan has been hassle free. The religious activities are a welcome initiative of the administration.”