Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday urged the Centre to take adequate measures to ensure timely completion of the ongoing expansion work of the Bhubaneswar-Puri National Highway-316 before lord Jagannath’s Nabakalebar festival scheduled in June next year.
In a letter to Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, the Chief Minister said that during his last review on the progress of the work relating to the festival, he found that the NH expansion work along the route was moving at a snail’s pace.
“Since NH-316 serves as the gateway to Puri from Bhubaneswar, completion of the road over-bridge near Malatipatpur and the Puri bypass on the same Highway, along with four-laning of the entire road, is essential before March next year. While the State is getting ready for the unique festival, the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) authorities have to expedite their pace of work failing which, all our plans for tourist traffic management to and from Puri during the heavy rush will be completely disrupted,” Patnaik said in his letter.
Stating that nearly 30 lakh devotees are expected to visit Puri to witness the Nabakalebar festival, which is held once in every 12 to 18 years, Patnaik requested the Union Minister to intervene in the matter and direct the NHAI authorities and the concessionaire to mobilise their resources to complete the work before March next.
The Chief Minister also invited Gadkari to visit Puri to witness the Nabakalebar festival.