Jagannath Temple ready to unveil its heritage corridor today

PURI/ BHUBANESHWAR: In a move mirroring the upcoming Ram Temple consecration in Ayodhya, the Naveen Patnaik government in Odisha is preparing for a grand inauguration of its own ambitious project – Srimandir Parikrama Prakalpa or Jagannath Temple heritage corridor project. This Rs. 800 crore heritage corridor encircling the revered Jagannath Temple in Puri is set for its official opening on Wednesday, just five days before the Ayodhya ceremony.

While the BJP-ruled central government seeks to make Ayodhya’s ‘Pran Pratishtha’ a mega religious event, Patnaik’s state government is equally keen to highlight the Parikrama’s significance, pulling out all stops to ensure widespread participation in Wednesday’s celebration. Notably, both events occur mere months before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

The Odisha government has planned to make arrangements for 10,000 people from different parts of the state to daily visit the Jagannath temple Puri for a period of a month from January 22. All district collectors have been directed to put in service enough buses for transportation of devotees from every panchayat and civic body to Puri from January 22 onwards. The state government has also declared January 17 as a public holiday.

The inauguration of the Parikrama project will be presided over by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. The development around the Jagannath Temple has been carried out with the objective of enhancing the experience of a large number of devotees who throng the temple in Puri every year. The 75-metre corridor project includes parking places, Shree Setu (a bridge), pilgrimage centres, a new road to facilitate the movement of pilgrims, toilets, clock rooms and other visitors’ amenities in and around the Jagannath temple in Puri. The Shree Jagannath Temple Administration has invited representatives from 90 religious shrines and institutions across the country to attend the function

The Chief Minister appealed to the people to ensure wider participation in the celebrations by lighting diyas, reciting devotional songs and blowing of conches on Wednesday. However, leaders of the Opposition Congress and the BJP in Odisha are most likely to give a miss to the inauguration of the heritage corridor project, describing it as a ‘political event’.

Congress Legislative Party leader Narasingha Mishra claims, “Just as the BJP is using the Ram temple for political gain, the BJD is doing the same with the heritage corridor project. They’re using public funds to further their electoral prospects.” He further alleges that, like the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, the Puri project remains incomplete.

State BJP president Manmohan Samal echoes similar sentiments, stating, “Lord Jagannath doesn’t belong to any political party. The BJD has been exploiting the Lord for their political benefit.” He views the event as a purely party program.

Rejecting the allegations of opposition parties, BJD MLA Amar Prasad Satpathy said the inauguration of the Srimandir Parikrama Prakalpa is a religious programme.

Meanwhile, a large number of devotees from across Odisha and other parts of the country began arriving in Puri in anticipation of the event at the highly revered 12th Century shrine. Reports said the entire pilgrim town is wearing a festive look and has been adorned with flowers, decorative lights.

Chairman 5T (transformational) initiative and Nabin Odisha, V K Pandian, Chief Secretary Pradeep Kumar Jena and DGP in-charge Arun Sarangi have visited Puri and reviewed the preparedness and security arrangements put in place for the inauguration of the Parikrama Project.

A four-layer security deployment will be in force and all related arrangements have been made for VIPs, security of devotees, smooth darshan by devotees, the DGP told mediapersons.