Puri: Pilgrims from Cuttack and Balasore arrived in Odisha’s pilgrim town Puri in special buses on Monday morning to experience the Srimandir Parikrama Prakalpa, which was unveiled by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on January 17.
The pilgrims arrived here via Shree Setu, a gate erected to greet them.
“People from different districts of Odisha will be coming to Puri in phases. The service began today and will continue for 25 days. Around 8000 to 10,000 people from different blocks and districts will visit the Jagannath Temple daily on these days. After arriving at Samanga, they will be taken to Jagannath Ballav Pilgrim Centre (JBPC) by feeder buses. The devotees will get an opportunity to see an exhibition of sacred items used in shrine at JBPC before embarking on Shree Marg, the direct path from the multi-level parking within JBPC to Dolabedi (the Srimandir Parikrama site),” additional chief administrator of Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) Samarth Verma told the media.
He added that 250 volunteers have been engaged to guide the pilgrims.
This joint initiative by the Odisha government and SJTA is aimed at ensuring a convenient and comfortable experience for devotees undertaking this spiritual pilgrimage.
“We have come from two Panchayat blocks, and the facilities provided by the government are commendable. Our journey to Bhubaneswar last night was smooth, and we were provided with good accommodations in hotels,” a devotee from Balasore said.
Earlier in the day, Cuttack Mayor Subash Chandra Singh informed that 700 people from 32 wards of Cuttack boarded special buses from Barabati fort. “The devotees of the city have also donated Rs 8.4 lakh, 265 kg rice, and 300 sacks of coconut to the temple,” he added.
Sources further said that devotees from Ganjam, Mayurbhanj, and Kendrapada will also be arriving in Puri for darshan of the Lord and Parikrama Prakalpa, which includes a green buffer zone, a welcome space that can accommodate 6,000 worshippers, JBPC, multi-level parking and a designated path for pedestrians, among other facilities built to enhance the overall experience for pilgrims visiting the revered Jagannath Temple.
A day after opening the Srimandir Parikrama Prakalpa, the CM had launched Shree Jagannath Express bus service under the state’s flagship Location Accessible Multi-modal Initiative (LAccMI) to facilitate transportation of people from all districts of Odisha to the pilgrim town.
As many as 80 Sleeper Delux buses with AC facility, will operate from all the 30 districts for transportation of people to Puri via Bhubaneswar. This is part of the state government’s plan to mobilise around 10,000 people daily for a month to visit the Rs 800-crore heritage corridor around the 12th-century shrine.
