Dikhyaa Mohanty 
The foundation stone for the Rs 331-crore heritage corridor project in Odisha’s Puri was laid by ‘Gajapati Maharaja’ Divyasingha Deb in presence of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on November 24.
According to the reports, the foundation stone for the ‘Srimandir Parikrama’ project was laid on the culmination of the three-day-long “Mahayajna” near the boundary wall of Lord Jagannath temple amid chanting of ‘slokas’ by priests of the ‘Shrotriya’ Brahmin community as ‘Jai Jagannath’ intonations rented the air.
‘Gajapati Maharaja’ — the titular king of Puri, considered the first servitor of Lord Jagannath, performed the rituals of ‘Mahayajna’ as the ‘Karta’. CM Patnaik said- “Jay Jagannath! Today is a historic day for all Jagannath devotees all over the world and indeed a sacred day for the people of Odisha.”
The chief minister felicitated 10 persons who donated their ancestral land, adjacent to the temple, for the project. Odisha assembly Speaker SN Patro, state Congress president Niranjan Patnaik, Puri MP Pinaki Mishra and state ministers were present at the programme.
The ambitious heritage corridor project was unveiled in December 2019. It is aimed at making adequate security provisions and amenities for devotees to have a smoother darshan of the deities during festivals and other special occasions such as Ratha Jatra.
Further, a Tata group company will be executing the works worth Rs 331.26 crore within 18 months. Infrastructure around the 75-metre radius of the 12th-century shrine would be developed as a part of the project. Places of religious and historical importance such as Languli Mutt, Badachhata Mutt and Chhauni Mutt would be revamped in the new Kalingan style of architecture.
The Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) building would be redeveloped, besides creating an integrated command and control centre. Further, the project includes the development of Badadanda heritage streetscape, Sri Setu, Jagannath Ballav pilgrim centre and multilevel car parking.
