Odisha's Patnaik govt unveils grand Jagannath Temple Parikrama project amid excitement over Ayodhya's Ram Temple

As a part of the Jagannath Temple Parikrama project, the heritage corridor around the temple will be inaugurated on January 17.

The collectors have been asked to make sufficient arrangements of buses and plans have been made for the devotees to stay at the transit camps.

A senior government office told The Indian Express, "The Parikrama project is a massive infrastructure push around the Jagannath Temple. Completion of the project will be a historical day for Odisha.

"It will enhance the experience of lakhs of devotees visiting the temple every day. People of the state should see the project."

The project, which has been developed at an estimated cost of Rs. 800-crore, is a free passage of 75 metres around the walls of the shrine.

Photo courtesy: Facebook/Naveen Patnaik

The Opposition has slammed the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) government's plan for sending the money from the state exchequer to garner the support of the ruling party, led by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

The project will be inaugurated just days ahead of the January 22 Ram Temple consecration in Uttar Pradesh's Ayodhya.

The Patnaik government's plan is widely viewed as a counter strategy to the Ram Temple consecration, which many political pundits believe will give Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) political dividends.

"The BJD has virtually snatched the possibility of playing the religious card from the BJP with a very strong political message in its projects for improvement of the Jagannath Temple besides many other small and big shrines in Odisha," Jayanth Mohapatra, a retired professor of political science in Berhampore University, told The Times of India.

Patnaik, who maintains equal distance from both BJP and Congress-led Opposition coalition, will seek re-election for the sixth term as Odisha heads to its assembly elections along with General Elections this year.