Odisha Government Declares Government Holiday on January 17th for Puri Jagannath Parikrama Project Inauguration

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Sunday declared a government holiday for the inauguration day of the Srimandir Parikrama Project on the 17th of January, Monday. As per an official release, all government offices, schools, and colleges of the State will remain closed on January 17th. The inauguration ceremony of the project will be held on the same day, which is expected to be celebrated with great devotion and enthusiasm. The Srimandir Parikrama Prakalpa is a unique reflection of Odia’s identity and aims to enable devotees of Lord Jagannath to participate in the program happily and plead for devotion to the Lord.

The corridor project includes parking places, Shree Setu (a bridge), pilgrimage centers, a new road to facilitate the movement of pilgrims, toilets, clock rooms, and other visitors’ amenities in and around the Jagannath temple in Puri.

The Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) has invited representatives from at least 90 religious shrines and institutions across the country to the mega event. It is expected that around 5 lakh devotees will participate in the inaugural ceremony of the heritage corridor project. The administration will deploy at least 44 platoons of police personnel to provide security, maintain law and order, and manage traffic at Puri on the occasion. It has installed around 500 CCTV cameras across the coastal town as part of foolproof security arrangements for the mega event, sources said.