Puri, Jan 7: The Jagannath Temple Heritage Corridor Project (Shri Mandir Parikrama Project) in Odisha’s Puri has given an absolutely new look to the 12 Century Shrine, the Puri Jagannath Temple at the cost of Rs 943 crores.
The project has not only developed the infrastructural specifications of the temple and its ancient sculptures related to the artefacts of the Odia sculptors but also transformed the avenues of public amenities in and around the shrine. The Shri Mandir Parikrama has now completely transformed the rectangular corridor surrounding the 12th-century Jagannath Temple into a contemporary pilgrim centre, equipped with state-of-the-art amenities.
The scenic developments include a queue management system for over 6,000 devotees,multiple counters of digital baggage screening facilities which can easily scan bags and baggage of the visitors in view of safety and security of the temple and the commuters, a cloakroom capable of accommodating belongings for over 5,000 families, provisions of fresh and pure drinking water usable directly from tap, restroom facilities for thousands of visitors, dedicated geysers for hand/foot washing, information-cum-donation kiosks, shelter pavilions for shade and rest, multi-level car parking, a dedicated lane for movements of shuttles and emergency vehicles, inclusive circumambulation provisions for divyangs, an integrated command and control centre, Library cum souvenir shop with literatures, among other state-of-the-art features.
Apart from it, the project include a green buffer zone of 7 meters and a 10-meter wide pedestrian way around the core temple which will serve the major purpose of seamless circumambulation of the temple by the elderly and ailing devotees throughout the year. Similarly, the 3-kilometer-long Grand Road(Bada Danda) has been freed from petty vendors and encroachers to pave the way to facilitate the passage of the chariots and visitors during the annual Car Festival and other crowd-pulling grand rituals related to the Shri Jagannath Cult.
Over 600 holdings and residents have been displaced to safer residential colonies with adequate rehabilitation and resettlement packages to evacuate the uncommon congestions in front of the four Dwaras(Gates) of the Shri Jagannath temple. The essential intervention was taken up by the Shri Jagannath Temple authorities to ease the entrance and exit of visitors in all seasons and to regulating crowd during the peak festivities in Puri.
Most significantly, the Puri Shrine which was historically and spiritually significant for as many as 752 mutts and monasteries, were also dedicated for the project. The most ancient Radha Ballav Mutt which was standing before the Singha Dwara(Lions Gate) of the Jagannath Temple for centuries, was razed for beautification of the frontal landscape (the façade) of the shrine. Apart from it, the visible, outward-facing side of the temple has been adorned with intricate designs, sculptures, and architectural elements with the intervention of the 5T Initiatives of the Odisha government.It is to add new exponent to the aesthetic values and boost the attractive symbolism of Odisha’s fine art and intrinsic culture of the ancient temple carried forward since thousands of generations.
Chairman 5T VK Pandian, Temple Officials and the executing agencies have reported the completion of all civil works of the Shri Mandir Parikrama Project, with the remaining landscaping tasks expected to conclude by the end of this week. Remaining works are being taken up on a war footing as the inauguration of the project is scheduled on January 17.
To make the inaugural ceremony an extravaganza and a magnificently-grand festivity, uniform painting is underway on the prominent structures along the three-kilometre-long Grand Road which links the Jagannath Temple and Mausima Temple on a straight line. The sanctum sanctorum, the whole temple and the side temples on the Shri Jagannath temple campus and the subsidiary shrines in the Puri town will be adorned with vibrant and colourful spectrums of lighting.
