Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to inaugurate Shri Jagannath Heritage Corridor Project today

Puri (Odisha) [India], January 17 : Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik will inaugurate the Shri Jagannath Heritage Corridor Project on Wednesday.
The Puri District Collector said that all arrangements are in place and the Parikrama Project is complete and will be open to the public for viewing after the inauguration. Meanwhile, devotees thronged Lord Jagannath Temple for 'Darshan' ahead of the inauguration ceremony.
"All the arrangements are in place. The Parikrama Project which is going to be inaugurated today is complete in all aspects. Apart from that we are also making the Shree Marg, Shree Setu and the Jagannath Ballabh parking centre functional....'Darshan' is already going on smoothly. There is no problem of people having darshan of Lord Jagannath and Mahaprasad sevan. Post the inauguration, the entire Parikrama will be open to the public for viewing," Puri District Collector Samarth Verma said speaking to ANI.
The Collector further informed that the 'purnaahuti' ritual of the ongoing 'yagya' that started from January 12 will commence from around 1:30 pm.
"The 'purnaahuti' ritual, of the 'yagya' which is happening from January 12, will happen today from 1.30 pm onwards and all the guests who are coming from different parts of the country, different temples of the state, all the political dignitaries like Ministers, MPs, MLAs- have been invited...," he said.
Listing out the itinerary of the inauguration program, Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) Chief Administrator Ranjan Kumar Das said, "All arrangements for the jagya and sabha meeting places are fully prepared. The CM will reach Puri at around 1.15 pm. CM, Pashupati Maharaj and other dignitaries will go to the 'Lokarpana' stage and will dedicate the Parikrama project to the public at around 1.30. There the pushpanjali and the completion of the Yagya process will be done by 2 pm."
"Around 2 pm, there will be a 'Pradakshina' along the 'c with the saints and other dignitaries. A few cultural troupes will also accompany them. Then at 2:30 pm the meeting will start at the designated place. The CM will felicitate the people involved in the project. Thereafter at 3 pm the Chief Minister will depart for Bhubaneshwar. The public will be allowed to enter the Parikrama after 3 pm," he added.
Speaking about the security arrangements in place at the temple, Puri Inspector-General (IG) of Police Ashish Kumar Singh said, "All the police arrangements which we had planned, have been implemented. Now, the guests are coming, and they are being properly received by us and our administration and are being settled in the auditorium. If any of the guests want to have 'Darshan', then we are also facilitating that..."
"The general devotees are also having normal 'Darshan'...There are approximately 1000-1200 guests and we have made arrangements for them... The 'Darshan' for the general public is normal. There will only be a 20-25 minute break when the procession will start...," the IG added.
The Jagannath Heritage Corridor Project of Lord Jagannath Temple in Odisha's Puri has been completed by the Odisha Bridge & Construction Corporation (OBCC) and handed over to the temple administration Sri Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA).
The Heritage project includes parking places, Shree Setu (a bridge), pilgrimage centres, a new road to facilitate the movement of pilgrims, toilets for male, and female devotees and servitors, clock rooms and electrical work with other visitors' amenities.
The corridor aims to enhance the visual appeal and surroundings of the iconic Jagannath Temple. The inauguration comes just five days ahead of the Ram temple coronation. Jagannath Temple is one of the four dhammas that every Hindu is advised to visit.
Mahaprabhu Shri Jagannath, along with sister Devi Subhadra and elder brother Mahaprabhu Shri Balabhadra, are worshipped in Puri (the Purusottama Kshetra). Though no changes have been made in the temple, the area within the 75-metre corridor of the boundary wall of the Jagannath temple has been developed.