Puri, Nov 3 : Sri Jagannath temple Parikrama corridor project and Sri Setu both mega projects will be dedicated to the public and devotees on January 17 next, Puri Gajapati Dibyasingh Deb said on Friday.

Taking to newsmen here,Gajapati, who is also the chairperson of the temple managing body said the matter will be placed in the temple managing committee and plans will be chalked out for a grand inaugural ceremony.

Chief minister Naveen Patnaik had conceptualised a number of projects including the Srimandir Parikrama to develop Puri as an international heritage place.

Patnaik had laid the foundation for the parikrama project on November 24,2021.

On Friday the Gajapati accompanied by Temple chief administrator Ranjan Kumar Das ,district collector Samarth Verma, top officials of Odisha bridge construction corporation (OBCC),TATA projects and Nagarjun construction corporation visited these projects this morning.

He visited the Jagannath Ballav mutt, the landing point of Sri Setu (trumpet bridge) , multi storey parking lot and market complex.

The trumpet bridge is five kms long road bifurcated from NH 316 connects the Jagannath ballav parking lot with an access road to Sri Jagannath temple.OBCC has been entrusted as the nodal agency to execute the project.

The state government had acquired private land holdings, land endowments of mutts and all land coming within 75 metre heritage corridors around the Meghanad prachir of Sri Jagannath temple at a cost of Rs. 265.5 crore under rehabilitation and resettlement package while over Rs.331 crore was allocated for execution of the Patikrama project.

OBCC Project Officer Pravat Ranjan Panigrahi said the parikrama work is in its final stage. The beautification and green landscaping along the three other gates of the temple parikrama are going on.

Though originally the project was to be completed within 18 months it was delayed because of covid pandemic when the work stopped, he said adding that efforts are on to complete the projects by December next.