Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik begins the first day of New Year 2022 seeking blessings from the Lord Jagannath at his residence Naveen Niwas.
Soon after waking up in the morning, Patnaik came out from his bedroom and prayed before Lord Jagannath put up at one of the walls in his residence. A video of 1.06 minute of this moment goes viral in different social media.
The Chief Minister, who is a great devotee of Lord Jagannath, usually visits the Jagannath temple in Puri on January 1 every year and pays obeisance to Lord Jagnnath and his siblings.
However, the 12th Century shrine has remained closed today for the public in view of prevailing Covid-19 situation.
In the morning, the Chief Minister greeted the people on New Year using his social media site twitter. He prayed to Lord Jagannath for prosperity of all people and progress of the State.
Notably, taking a historic step, the Chief Minister has decided to implement most ambitious Shrimandir Parikrama Prakalpa (Heritage Corridor Project), for which Shilanyas and Bhumi Puja were also performed in the hands of Gajapati Maharaj, as per Vedic rituals during the event. The Chief Minister along with leaders across the party line had attended the programme on November 24.
Conceived in 2016, the Puri Heritage Corridor Project was first unveiled in December 2019. The Chief Minister has given approval for a budgetary provision of Rs 3,200 crore for developing Puri town as a World Heritage City.
Several key developmental projects includes the Heritage Corridor, Sri Setu, Command and control centre, Badadanda heritage streetscape, Jagannath Ballav pilgrim centre, multilevel car parking, municipal market development, Swargadwar development, Pramod Udyan, Gurukulam, Mahodadhi market, beachfront development, Puri lake, Musa river and Atharnala revival plan, and housing for Sevayats are being taken up in the holy town.
The Government has launched Augmentation of Basic Amenities and Development of Heritage and Architecture (ABADHA) scheme for transforming Puri into a world-class heritage city.