Bharat is consistently improving its infrastructure and developing new monuments. The government has been improving the existing monuments, and mandirs like the Ram Mandir and building new monuments like the Ambedkar memorial. Let’s quickly dive deep into the latest Jagannath Puri Parikrama Project.
Brief overview of Jagannath Puri Parikrama Project
Jaganath Puri is an essential Mandir devoted to Jaganath, precisely an Avatar of Lord Vishnu. It is situated on the eastern coast of India in Puri of Odisha state and was built by the King Indradyumna of Avanti. However, the current version of the Mandir that we see was developed from the 10th century. But the main Mandir of Jagannath Puri was constructed by Anantavarman Chodganga who was the first king of the Eastern Ganga Dynasty. The Mandir is among the 108 Abhimana Kshethra of Vaishnavite tradition.
The popularity of this Mandir is major because of the Rath Yatra festival that is celebrated every year. In this holy festival the 3 prime deities are worshipped by Sabar Tribal Priests. The 3 deities worshipped are the Jagannath, Subhadra, and Balabhadra and their icons are made of Neem wood logs unlike in the other Mandirs. During ancient times, the Mandir was invaded 18 times and is one of the 4 Dhams of India.
Parikrama Project Inauguration Details
Odisha government has launched the Parikrama project in Jagannath Mandir. It has planned to inaugurate the aspiring Mandir project on 17th January. This is being done to better the architecture for the devotees visiting the Mandir and is going to be built at a forecast of Rs 943 crores and covers 15 acres of land.
The main key point of the project is to make Puri World class heritage city. Along with this project, the government also decided to spend another Rs 4,224 crores to modify Puri’s infrastructure under the Augmentation of Basic Amenities and Development of Heritage and Architecture (ABADHA). The people living around the mandir gave up 15.64 acres of land for the Parikrama Project.
This project is to build a 75-meter corridor around the Mandir to offer a better sight for the worshippers. They are carefully building the Parikrama project to ensure everyone’s comfort.
Below are the focus points of the Parikrama Project:
- Green space of 7 meters next to exterior walls and a 5-meter high gallery
- A 10-meter trail inside the Mandir for Rath Yatra and everyone to use
- 14-meter garden area & gardens have trees and bushes
- An 8-meter walk path outside with trees on both sides to give shade for visitors
- A 10-metre area for visitors with basic amenities like bathrooms and tents for rest
- 5-meter byroad for service transport to get by and maintenance for the corridor
- 5-metre lane for evacuation in case of an emergency
- 5-metre pathway for all vehicles to pass by without creating traffic jams to properties
- 7-metre walkway near a traffic lane with trees to give shade for people walking around nearby places. Parking lot for Mandir workers, bin, sitting amenities, and drinking water spots.
With all these fantastic features, this project is going to be one of 2024s most visited places along with the Ram Mandir.
Problems Encountered
They laid the foundation stone in 2021, and since then, the Mandir administration faced hurdles in finishing the construction.. Firstly the most common problem was COVID-19 and due to this, the National Monumentary authorities imposed to stop any construction activities within 100 metre range of the Mandir. But this was bad, so the administrators decided to repeal the NMA to remove any restrictions for construction. Eventually, the construction commenced until the BJP filed a petition in the court on the base that the project violated the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites Act.
The court immediately dismissed the 2 petitions and penalized petitioners for 1 lakh rupees for senseless litigation.
Benefits of the Jagannath Puri Parikrama Project on the Economy
After opening the most obvious yet beneficial point will be the boosted tourism in the region. More tourists coming into the region means they spend more which directly increases sales of retail businesses in the area. The main good thing about the Jagannath Puri Parikrama Project is that it will take good care of the essential world heritage site. Future generations will come and sightsee around and the site will stay intact for years to come.
Economic growth factors such as the creation of employment during and after the completion of the construction, tourism, and the demand for goods and services in the region will rise. Hotels will see more customers in the upcoming years. Overall the economic activities will nourish at a greater level.
The project and modification of the entire city will improve the quality of life in the area. As there are more amenities available. Air pollution around the Mandir will be under control due to green life planted in parks. Foreign tourists will add one more place to visit in India thus global tourism boost as well.
Naveen Patnaik, the Leader of the Odisha government has organized special arrangements for the inauguration and more tight security. Organizers have arranged buses for the smooth movement of devotees. They have invited 90+ representatives of religious shrines along with various other institutions for the inauguration.
Political Stance
BJP called the Jagannath Puri Parikrama Project a political move of BJD to get leverage in the 2024 elections. In 2019, the BJD had lost 8 seats out of 21 to the BJP. BJD aims to win for the 6th time in a row against BJP. Therefore, the Parikrama Project aims to tactically to use religious sentiments to leverage a win against the BJP. The lighting of Diya is a move similar to that of BJPs. Initially, Prime Minister Modi first started with Ram Mandir. In addition to that, 8000 vehicles will pass through every nook and corner of the state. To collect betel nuts and rice for the inauguration ceremony.
This move indicates BJD’s political means to win elections.
