Dikhyaa Mohanty 
The idea to establish a special security battalion to protect the Jagannath temple in Puri and assist devotees has been approved by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. Following a discussion with stakeholders and consideration of input from 5T and Nabin Odisha chairman VK Pandian, the chief minister approved the proposal.
During the discussion, it was brought up that the Jagannath temple receives thousands of visitors each day. It was estimated that there were roughly 50,000 devotees each day in the post-COVID era. On significant religious holidays and weekends, it doubles or triples. Following the public dedication of the Srimandir Parikrama Prakalp, part of the Heritage Corridor Project, the temple is anticipated to see a significant increase in the number of devotees.
The Special Security Battalion would be established in light of these. With about 1190 men, the new battalion would report to Puri SP and be commanded and controlled by them. It would be primarily in charge of giving the temple complete security. Its staff will receive specialized training in crowd control and devotee facilitation to guarantee a hassle-free and organized darshan by them.
