BHUBHANESHWAR: Amid reverberation of Vedic hymns and Jai Jagannath chants, Puri Jagannath dham, one of the four holy dhams of India, was teeming with tens of thousands of people as Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik inaugurated the heritage corridor project (
Shree Mandira Parikrama Prakalpa
) on Wednesday.
Coming days ahead of the Jan 22 inauguration of Ram temple in Ayodhya, thousands of devotees gathered on Grand Road, braving light rain and the winter chill, to witness the unveiling of the Rs 800-crore project in the presence of Puri king Gajapati Dibyasingha Deb.
The king later offered the "
Purna Ahuti
" to the three-day maha yajna, which had begun on Monday.
Puri gears up for inauguration of Jagannath corridor
The key feature of the project is devotees can get a clear view of the Meghanada Pacheri (outer wall of the shrine) and 214ft-high main temple by standing at the corridor site. The project will also provide facilities like
Parikrama Marg
, greenery, landscaping and washrooms.
Naveen, Deb and 5T chairman VK Pandian among other dignitaries walked around the heritage corridor for 1km. The CM had laid the foundation stone of the project on Nov 25, 2021.
"The Shree Mandir Parikrama Prakalpa belongs to every Odia and Jagannath devotee across the globe. The project will offer a divine experience to those who come to Puri for Jagannath darshan. I bow before the Puri residents for their sacrifice. Jai Jagannath," Naveen later said.
Government sources said Naveen's trusted aide Pandian inspected the project's progress at least 400 times by visiting Puri in the last over two years.
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