Bhubaneswar: A delegation of senior Sevayats of Shree Jagannath Temple today invited Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to grace the inaugural ceremony of Srimandir Parikrama Project which will be held in Puri on 17 January, 2024.
The servitors met the CM at his residence Naveen Niwas here and handed over him the holy invitation.
Shri Patnaik expressed his gratitude to the servitors and gave one Betel Nut and Rice in the name of Lord Jagannath to the invitees, said Ramchandra Das Mohapatra, Chief Priest of Devi Subhadra.
“I appeal to all the Jagannath devotees to send one Betel Nut and take part in the grand imaginational ceremony of Srimandir Parikrama Project,” he said.
The servitors first presented the invitation to Lord Lingaraj here this morning and later invited the Chief Minister.
The delegation would also handover the invitation to Governor Raghubar Das.
The Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA), Puri and Sevayats have decided to send invitations to about 1,000 temples across the State and outside Odisha including foreign countries for the inauguration of Shree Jagannath Parikrama Prakalp (heritage corridor project) in Puri.
Inauguration of the Heritage Corridor, which is Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s dream project, would be held for five days.
“We have decided to invite all Hindu spiritual leaders and Gurus to the inaugural event. We will invite the presiding deities of the other three Dhams of Char Dham and Dwadasa Jyotirlingas,” said Ranjan Kumar Das, SJTA Chief Administrator
Thirteen teams have been formed to distribute cards to temples and Peethas in different districts of the state. Similarly, teams have been formed to invite different Dharma Peethas outside the State, officials said.
Teams have also been formed to hand over invitations to the Jagannath Temple at Hauz Khas in New Delhi, Siddhi Vinayak temple at Mumbai, temples in Mathura and Brundaban and other prominent religious seats in the country, they said.
Meanwhile, a team of servitors went to Tamil Nadu to hand over invitations at Meenakshi temple at Madurai, Rameswaram temple, Jagannath temple at Chennai, and some other major temples in the State.