lakhs of visitors from across the country are thronging this abode of lord Jagannath and prominent tourist destination to celebrate Christmas and New Year.
The numbers of visitors have been increasing with passing of every hour and the traffic police have a tough time to deal with the large numbers of vehicles entering the city.
This apart, tourists from neighbouring States, particularly West Bengal, are coming here to spend their winter holidays. Hotels, lodging houses, holiday homes and Government accommodations have displayed “Full” notices.
City hoteliers have doubled their staffs to cater to serve the ever-increasing tourist flow. Many unscrupulous hoteliers have raised their room rents several fold while travel agencies have too doubled their rates.
The rush of tourists has also been noticed in Chilika lake, Satpara, Ramchandi, Harchandi and Konark. The boat owners at Chilika too have increased their hiring fees substantially. Besides, picnic parties from across the State are seen at various spots around the city. While the city has a small population of Christians, most visitors are non-Christians but they have come to enjoy the winter holidays. The half a dozen churches are decorated and illuminated with colourful lights.
The sea beach too provides some extra entertainment in the form of exhibition of sand art by at least ten prominent sand artists. Hundreds of hands operate delicately on sand every day to create their choicest images. The massive sand sculptures of Jesus are drawing hundreds to the beach. Hundreds of lifeguards are deployed along the beach to prevent drowning in the sea while bathing.
The Jagannath Temple administration has geared up its resources for timely observance of rituals and enough time for darshan of the deities. The cooking of Mahaprasad has been doubled to meet the demand. One-way entry system has been enforced for entry into the temple. Armed policemen have been deployed on temple duty and the visitors are frisked through metal detector gates. CCTV cameras are installed at strategic places to monitor the crowd movement, said Puri SP Anup Kumar Sahu.
The pilgrims are experiencing difficulties as they are to spend the winter nights at a deserted place in the waterworks area as tourist buses are not allowed to enter the city.