Puri Temple Clears Budget for Lord's Nabakalebar

BY: SUN STAFF CORRESPONDENT

Mar 07, 2013 —JAGANNATHA PURI, ORISSA — The Jagannath Temple administration has made a budgetary allocation of nearly Rs 50 crore for development of infrastructure in and around the temple for Nabakalebar festival (formation of new idols of Deities) in Puri, billed for 2015.

The budgetary provision was part of the shrine's annual budget (2013-14), entailing over Rs 143 crore 41 lakh, approved by the Jagannath Temple managing committee on Thursday. The ensuing fiscal's budget is nearly Rs 65 crore more than the 2012-13 budget. Budget for 2012-13 was pegged at nearly Rs 78 crore 37 lakh.

"For the first time, we made the budgetary provision for Nabakalebar. Several projects would be undertaken at the temple keeping in mind the grand festival," temple's chief administrator Arvind Padhee said. Budget expenditure for 2013-14 has been estimated at nearly Rs 143 crore 40 lakh.

Significantly, chief minister Naveen Patnaik last month approved a staggering Rs 1,000 crore on preparedness and overall infrastructure development for Nabakalebar festival. "The money will be spent on expansion of roads connecting Puri to some other cities in state, drinking water, health, sanitation and others amenities for the visitors. Special emphasis will be given on devotees' accommodation and comfortable stay during the festival," the chief minister had said.

The government is also giving special emphasis on improvement of train connectivity. Around five to seven lakh people visit Puri during the annual Rath Yatra while around 10 lakh people had visited the beach town during the last edition of Nabakalebar in 1996. However, the government anticipates the crowd to go up by five times in 2015 because of better connectivity of Puri these days.

The temple administration has also made an increased allocation for the welfare of shrine servitors. While about Rs three crore thirty-seven lakh was earmarked for different welfare schemes of servitors in 2012-13, it has been hiked to nearly Rs five crore sixteen lakh in 2013-14. Portions of the fund would be spent on proposed socio-economic survey of priests of the temple. The shrine body plans to float a host of new welfare schemes to uplift the socio-economic conditions of poor priests. The last such survey was made in 2005, leading to compilation of 8,300 members from 1,348 priests' families. It was found that around 2,040 servitors were rendering service at the 12th century shrine.