Expecting a large-scale crowd during the 2015 Navakalevar of the lord Jagannath, lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra, the State Government on Wednesday decided to set up low-cost temporary accommodations for about one lakh pilgrims on public private partnership (PPP) mode in Puri.
This was decided at a high-level preparatory meeting on the Navakalear held at the State Secretariat under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary Jugal Kishore Mohaptra for the second consecutive day on Wednesday.It was decided that temporary dormitories will come up near bus stand with civic amenities for the devotees. These accommodations can be booked through online.Puri district Collector who was present at the meeting said the land for the purpose has already been identified and it would be handed overto the Tourism Department soon.
Similarly, number of beds in hotels is targeted to be increased to 30,000. In addition 24 hotels are coming up in Puri Town and eight more are in the pipeline to add further rooms. Around 4,000 more beds would come up in Puri hotels before Nabakalebara-2015, the sources said.Chief Secretary Mohapatra and Development Commissioner Injeti Srinivas reviewed the progress of the works relating to water supply, sanitation, health, security arrangements, power supply and tourist accommodation projects.
Energy Department Secretary Pradeep Kumar Jena assured that construction works for various substations in Puri and Konark would be completed within the scheduled time between June to December-2014. Health and Family Welfare Secretary PK Mohapatra said all possible measures are being taken to tackle the exigencies during the Navakalevar.
One 6-bedded ICU has been operationalized in the District Headquarters Hospital, Puri. Three Doctors, five Staff Nurses and one Pharmacist have already been provided training.