JPHCP Will Be Dedicated To The Devotees On January 17, 2024

Raja Gajapati Dibyasingha Deb of Puri has informed on 3 November 2023 that the Jagannath Temple Corridor Development Project or Jagannath Puri Heritage Corridor Project (JPHCP) would be dedicated to the devotees on 17 January next year.

Shri Mandir Parikrama is being built at a cost of Rs 943 crore:

• The much-awaited project for beautification of the precincts of the iconic Jagannath temple in Puri – Sri Mandir Parikrama – is being built at a cost of Rs 943 crore.
• On behalf of Shri Jagannath Temple administration, it was said that the inauguration ceremony would be held on a large scale on January 17 and devotees from India and abroad would come to see this program.

Shri Setu will be 1.5 km long and 60 meter wide:

• The 1.5 km long and 60 meter wide Shree Setu - Odisha's first trumpet bridge - will allow vehicles coming from Bhubaneswar and Brahmagiri to reach the Jagannath Vallabh parking lot near the temple, temple officials said.
• Land acquisition for the project began in November 2019, with over 600 people living around the temple giving up a crucial 15.64 acres of land for the development of the security zone.

Supreme Court's decision related to the security of the temple:

• Following a three-bench judgment of the Supreme Court headed by Justice Arun Mishra in November 2019, it became clear that a 75-metre radius around the temple should be cleared of all structures for the safety, security and improvement of the temple.
• Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in November 2021 laid the foundation stone of the project to develop the area within the 75-metre corridor of the boundary walls of the Jagannath temple into a pilgrimage centre.

Several facilities have been taken care of in the temple complex:

• Once completed, the center will have a queue management facility for 6,000 devotees,
  • luggage screening facility,
  • Cloakrooms to store the belongings of approximately 4,000 families,
  • There would be all modern facilities including drinking water, toilet facilities, hand/foot washing facilities, information-cum-
• Donation kiosks, shelter pavilions for shade and rest, multi-level car parking, dedicated shuttle cum emergency lanes to accommodate police, fire and emergency vehicles, an integrated command and control center and souvenir shop etc.

Earlier there was no Parikrama Marg in Puri:

• State government officials said the parikrama project was important for the temple as unlike the other three important Dhams, there was no parikrama route in Puri.
• Puri is the religious capital of Odisha and with around 40,000 people visiting every day, there was a need to clean the area around it.

The state is spending Rs 3,300 crore on infrastructure development of Puri:

• Apart from the temple project, the state government is spending Rs 3,300 crore to transform Puri's infrastructure under the Augmentation of Infrastructure and Development of Heritage and Architecture (ABADHA) scheme.
• The Puri Heritage Corridor project was first conceived in 2016 and unveiled in December 2019 with the aim of transforming the pilgrimage town into a heritage site of international importance.
• The Rs 800 crore project involves redeveloping key parts of the city and around the temple for visitors and tourists while creating an uninterrupted 75-metre corridor around the Meghnad Pacheri (the outer wall of the 12th century temple).
• Apart from the Heritage Corridor project, the city would also have Pramod Udyan (Anand Park).

Jagannath Puri is one of the four Dhams of the country:

• The great reformer and philosopher Shankaracharya (Adi Shankaracharya) created the original Char Dham (Puri, Dwarka, Badrinath and Rameshwaram).
• Three of the original Char Dham places are Vaishnav (Puri, Dwarka and Badrinath). While one is Shaivite (Rameshwaram).