Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday announced a special package of Rs 500 crore to develop Puri as a World Heritage City.
The sum will be spent on a range of modernisation plans including infrastructure development, construction of multi-lane roads, bridges, the revival of Musa river, and the renovation of lakes and Mathas in the region.
The announcement was made by the Odisha Chief Minister at a high-level meeting at Lok Seva Bhawan (state Secretariat) held earlier today.
"Infrastructure development of Puri is crucial to make it an attractive World Heritage City. Considering the present security environment, it is highly essential to strengthen the security features of the Shree Jagannath Temple. There can be no compromise on the security of the Puri Temple," Patnaik said at the meeting.
Among the projects that were given the green signal in the meeting are a new 1.5 km long link road connected by a trumpet Bridge (Shree Setu Project), redevelopment of the Jagganath Ballav Matha as an attractive pilgrim centre with multi-level car parking, amenities, commercial and meditation space and multi-modal hub at a cost of Rs 180 crore.
It also includes a plan of rejuvenation of the Musa river and connecting it with the Mangala river at a cost of Rs 85 crore. The development of Atharnala as an iconic pedestrian heritage bridge with the support of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and the development of a lake on 28 acres of land at a cost of Rs 35 crore.
This is not the first package announced for Puri as Patnaik had recently announced various projects for the region at a cost of Rs 265 crore under the Augmentation of Basic Amenities and Development of Heritage and Architecture (ABADHA) scheme.
( With inputs from ANI )