The Shilanyas (foundation-stone-laying) of the ambitious Shrimandir Parikrama Prakalpa (Heritage Corridor Project) was performed following a thre-day Mahayajna at the Jagannath Temple here on Wednesday.
Puri Gajapati Maharaja Dibyashingha Deb, the first servitor of Lord Jagannath, performed the Purnahuti and then laid the foundation of the project in the presence of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
State Assembly Speaker Surjya Narayan Patro, several Ministers including Pratap Jena, Ranendra Pratap Swain, Samir Ranjan Dash and Prafulla Mallik and Puri MP Pinaki Misra attended the event.
Puri BJP MLA Jayant Sarangi and State Congress president Niranajn Patnaik too were present on the occasion. Senior officers, including Chief Secretary SC Mahapatra and 5T Secretary VK Pandian, Shree Jagannath Temple Chief Administrator Dr Krishan Kumar and Puri Collector Samarth Verma, were also present.
“Today is a historic day for all Jagannath devotees across the globe and indeed a sacred day for the people of Odisha,” said the Chief Minister after his Parikrama around the Shreemandir.
Patnaik also felicitated 10 persons who have donated their lands adjacent to the heritage corridor project.
Krishan Kumar said, “As per our plan, we target to complete the project within 18 months. Background works of the project include art and culture works and stone carving works. I am sure that with the support of Puri citizens, Sevayats and other stakeholders, we will complete the work on time.”
Conceived in 2016, the project was first unveiled in December 2019. The Chief Minister has given approval for a budgetary provision of Rs 3,200 crore for developing Puri town as a world heritage city. The project includes the Heritage Corridor, Sri Setu, Command and Control centre, Badadanda heritage streetscape, Jagannath Ballav pilgrim centre, multilevel car parking, municipal market development, Swargadwar development, Pramod Udyan, Gurukulam, Mahodadhi market, beachfront development, Puri lake, Musa river and Atharnala revival plan and housing for sevayats.
The Government has purchased lands from 115 families around the temple to execute the project, which is a part of the Augmentation of Basic Amenities and Development of Heritage and Architecture (ABADHA) scheme for transforming Puri into a world-class heritage city.
The project is planned to allow devotees to experience a ‘Parikrama’ of the massive Jagannath Temple premises around the Meghnada Pacheri that surrounds the ancient 12th-century temple.
Being implemented at a cost of nearly Rs 800 crore, it envisages development of mutts, a Shree Jagannath reception centre, amenities for devotees and enhanced security within a 75-metre radius of the shrine.