Bhubaneshwar, July 4 (UNI) In a move to give a facelift to urban infrastructure at Puri, the abode of revered Lord Jagannath, the Odisha government has decided to upgrade the pilgrim town from a municipality to a municipal corporation.
If everything goes the right way, Puri will attain the status of Odisha’s 6th municipal corporation after Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Berhampur, Sambalpur, and Rourkela.
Chief Minister Mohan Majhi, briefing reporters here today, said the government has resolved to convert Puri into India’s No. 1 spiritual and tourist destination.
The vision of a prosperous and developed Odisha is impossible without a beautiful, green, developed city of Puri. The upgrading of Puri into a municipal corporation forms a special part of this vision of the government, Majhi told reporters.
In order to provide quality facilities to the devotees and tourists who throng Puri throughout the year, upgrading it to a municipal corporation is vital to meet the increasing civic pressure with thousands of footfalls each day.
Puri municipality and the surrounding Gram Panchayats will be constituted as units of the proposed Puri Municipal Corporation. It will include about seven to eight Gram Panchayats of Puri Sadar and Brahmagiri Block so that the residents of these Panchayats can get improved urban facilities.
The official process in this regard will start immediately from Saturday, he said.
Puri is considered a rich tourism treasure of the state. The 12th-century Jagannath temple and sprawling beach are a hunting ground for both domestic and international tourists.
Narrow and serpentine streets and open drains still dot several parts of the popular tourist destination of the state.
The picturesque sea beach at Puri is also wallowing in neglect with a lack of recreational facilities.
Thus, the government decision in this regard to upgrade Puri into a corporation is a welcome step, said a local resident, Rajendra Das.
