Jagannath Temple Corridor Ready for Inauguration in Odisha

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is poised to inaugurate the Shree Jagannath Parikrama Prakalp, a transformative Puri heritage corridor project, during a grand ceremony spanning from January 15 to 17, 2024. The comprehensive civil works for the project have been successfully concluded, and the final landscaping touches are anticipated to be completed by the year's end.

The Shree Mandira Parikrama Project (SMPP), adjacent to the Meghanada Pacheri (stone boundary encircling the Jagannath temple), has been undertaken at a cost of Rs 943 crore. This initiative encompasses a seven-meter green buffer zone and a 10-meter pedestrian-only inner circumambulation path, dedicated to the clockwise parikrama around the temple.

In November 2021, the Chief Minister laid the foundation stone for the development of the area within the 75-meter corridor of the Jagannath temple's boundary wall. The overarching objective of this project is to metamorphose the rectangular corridor surrounding the 12th-century Jagannath temple into a modern pilgrim center replete with contemporary amenities. These include a queue management facility for 6,000 devotees, a baggage screening facility, a cloakroom, and a multi-level car parking facility, among other features.

The process of land acquisition for the project commenced in November 2019, with more than 600 residents in the vicinity of the temple willingly surrendering 15.64 acres deemed critical for the security zone.

News by Rahul Yelligetti