Bhubaneswar: Puri King Gajapati Dibyasingha Deb on Friday said that the much-awaited Shree Jagannatha Heritage Corridor project in Puri will be dedicated to people on January 17 next year.
He said that special havan and puja rituals will be conducted on the occasion.
“The Shree Jagannatha Heritage Corridor is nearing its completion with the blessings of Lord. We reviewed the work around the temple. It has been proposed to be inaugurated on January 17,” said Dibyasingha Deb who is also the chairman of the Shree Jagannath Temple Management Committee (SJTMC).
The Puri King on Friday reviewed the progress and status of the Shree Jagannatha Heritage Corridor project and the Jagannath Ballav Pilgrim Center (JBPC).
The Chief Administrator of Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA), Ranjan Kumar Das and Puri collector, Samarth Verma were also present during the review.
“The entire JBPC project is a wonderful and beautiful arrangement for the devotees of Lord Jagannath. The pilgrims and devotees who will come to Puri by 2-wheelers or 4-wheelers can have a darshan of the lord very smoothly now. The project includes the parking, food courts, shops, a huge auditorium for various cultural programmes,” Dibyasingha Deb said.
He said the devotees coming from far flung areas in buses or other vehicles can go to the temple after parking their vehicles at the parking area at the pilgrim centre which is just few meters away from the 12 century shrine.
The Puri King also informed the media persons that the redevelopment work of the grand road or Bada Danda will begin after the completion of the Pilgrim Center project.
“Programmes will be organised in a very grand manner with the cooperation of Shree Jagannath Temple Administration and the Puri district administration. This ceremony will be a point of attraction for devotees from the country and abroad,” said Chief Administrator Das.
“People who had visited Puri ten years back will notice a huge difference now. I am sure the devotees will get an international and cosmopolitan feeling while visiting Puri after the inauguration of the project,” Das said.
Das also stated that the Shree Setu bridge project, the first ever trumpet bridge of Odisha, will be completed by December 15 while the Jagannath Ballav Parking project will be delayed.
He expressed hope that the parking project may be completed by February next year.
(IANS)