Probe Ordered After Focus Lights Near Puri Jagannath Temple Go Missing

Puri: Devotees expressed resentment after the focus lights installed near Shree Jagannath Temple in the pilgrim town of Puri went missing, prompting the Odisha government to order a probe into the episode.

Taking a serious view of the development, Chief Secretary Pradeep Kumar Jena instructed the Puri Collector to conduct an enquiry into this discontinuation of the focus lights used near the 12th century shrine.

Sources said that the Chief Secretary has also asked the district magistrate and collector to take appropriate action against persons involved in discontinuing the lighting arrangement.

Steps are also being taken to restore the lights at the earliest pending permanent solution to the problem, if any, at the government level.

Notably, local residents and devotees had voiced strong resentment after the laser lights installed to focus on the Jagannath Temple were switched off for the last 2-3 days. Several lights were also reported taken away from the heritage corridor, plunging the area into darkness.

Locals said the focus lights installed around the temple during the Heritage Corridor project inauguration programme were allegedly removed by contractors two days ago following BJD’s defeat in the 2024 elections.