Dikhyaa Mohanty 
Prithviraj Harichandan, the law minister for Odisha, said on Sunday that the Puri Jagannath Temple’s worshipers will soon get free Mahaprasad from the state government. Based on the daily attendance of devotees at the Srimandir, the government plans to provide around Rs 14-15 crore for the distribution of free Mahaprasad.
At the same time, the minister has appealed to devotees to donate freely. He said that in terms of the number of devotees coming to the temple, Rs 14 to 15 crore will be spent every year. “We have requested everyone to donate freely and free distribution of Mahaprasad will be done with the support of the devotees,” the minister said.
The state administration made the decision to implement the program because, following their darshan at Puri Jagannath Temple, devotees’ relatives and neighbors anxiously await the Mahaprasad. Harichandan stated that starting in the middle of November this year, during the month of Margashira, the darshan procedure will be simplified and made easier for devotees, in response to the difficulty caused by the large number of people within the temple.
