Jagannath Temple, Puri, Odisha - Rs. 800 cr Heritage Corridor Project inaugurated today!!

Navrang India January 17, 2024

The 'Shree Mandir Parikrama.onlinetourguide.in

The 'Shree Mandir Parikrama,' known as the Jagannath Heritage Corridor Project at Odisha's Puri's Lord Jagannath temple, will be inaugurated on January 17. The main aim is to enhance the visual appeal of the iconic and popular Jagannath Temple and its surroundings also improve the infrastructure around the temple so that more people will visit the temple to get blessed by the lord..

Puri heritage project, odisha. orissapost.com/

Puri Jagannath temple, heritage project,shreejagannatha.in

Shree mandira Parikrama project, a Rs 800-crore heritage corridor around Puri’s Jagannath Temple is the dream project for the Naveen  Patnaik government in Odisha and the scheduled opening is on 17 January by the CM after 1 pm. He will also release some documentaries on the mammoth project. Gajapati Maharajah Dibyasingha Deb who will give  'purnahuti' in the 'havan' between 1.30 pm to 2 pm.After 2 to 2.30 om,  has also invited priests for the Maha Yagna which began on January 15. The 3 day Maha Yagna which started on Makar Sankranti Day  will culminate on come Wednesday ie tomorrow.  After   'purnahuti' by the local ex-ruler CM, ministers, priests, etc will walk around the corridor - a sort of pradhakshanam between 2 pm to 2.30 pm.

In a video shared by the state's Chief Minister's Office.  CM  Naveen Patnaik appealed to the people to light diyas, blow conch shells, offer prayers and perform kirtan on the day of the inauguration. The grand inauguration takes place on January 17, just days before the consecration ceremony of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, UP.

This  project was soon planned after the devastation of the coastal temple town by Fani in 2019. It is one among the many projects launched by the government with a view to  transforming Puri into a world-class heritage location. It aims to  provide a number of amenities for the visiting devotees to Puri  to have hassle free darshan of Gods Jagannath, Balabhadra and goddess Subhadra.

Puri jagannath temple, Odisha. booking.com/hotel/in/

The Shree mandira Parikrama is a 75-meter corridor around Sri Jagannath Temple at Puri and is  designed to produce security to the temple, besides providing basic amenities for the pilgrims.. 
 According to the   project website “The intent of the project is to provide expansive, unobstructed corridors around the Meghanada Pacheri for giving an opportunity to devotees and pilgrims to have visual connect with the Temple, Neelchakra and Meghanada Pacheri. Shree mandira Parikrama will also serve the function of providing amenities for pilgrims and for strengthening safety and security of the temple and devotees,” 

The expensive project includes the construction of facilities like a Green Buffer Zone, a Public Convenience Zone with facilities for devotees, a path for ceremonial processions of deities, a footpath for smooth pedestrian flow around the corridor among other facilities, parking facilities, shree Setu .It being a joyous occasion, the holy town is decorated with flowers, lights and graffiti.Temple officials are expecting 3 to 4 lakh people to attend the function. Spesial invites include representatives from 90 religious institutions across India. To help the public attend the function, 17 January is a declared public holiday. The holy town is under the security blanket with the deployment of 90 platoons(each with a posse of 30 personnel), CCTV surveillance, bomb disposal teams, sniffer dogs, etc to face terrorists attack, etc.

As the preparations  are in progress, the Brahmins and Vedic scholars are chanting different Vedas at different gates of the 12th-century Jagannath Temple dedicated to God Vishnu. The Rig Veda is chanted at the Singh Dwar (lion gate or the main entrance), Yajur Veda at the southern gate, Sama Veda at the western gate and Atharva Veda at the northern gate. The Odisha government has planned to mobilise around 10,000 people daily for a month to visit the Shree mandira Parikrama Project. 

The opposition parties whose critical comments on the ruling parties are common across India do the same here and look upon it as a ruse to win vote. They said, "As the BJP is using the Ram temple in Ayodhya for political gains, the BJD here is using the heritage corridor project for electoral gains. The government is using the public exchequer to further the ruling BJD's electoral prospects,"