Kendrapara: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Tuesday allocated a sum of Rs 8.5 crore for the development of Baladevjew temple, the abode of the elder sibling of Lord Jagannath and the Grand Road of the temple here in Kendrapara district.
The decision was taken after a high-level meeting with Kendrapara District Collector, local public representatives, temple trust members, and the servitors through video conferencing in the day.
Patnaik had earlier visited the temple, known as Tulsi Kshetra, in July this year and expressed the need to develop the shrine.
As per the decisions taken at the meeting, the temple and its premises will be decorated with lighting system. Both the sides of the grand road will also have lighting system.
Other decisions taken at the meeting include the development of a spiritual park in the town, renovation of the heritage tank, conservation of ancient monuments, development of drainage and strengthening of temple security.
The Chief Minister directed the district-level officers to maintain the quality of the projects and complete those before the next car festival.
Notably, Patnaik had announced sanction of Rs 2 crore on the day of ‘Snana Purnima’ for the temple and its peripheral development, including renovation of the temple’s Jhulana Mandap, construction of Baladevjew Kalyana Mandap, wall on the north side of temple, toilet complex, deep tubewell near the marriage mandap and also provision of water supply round-the-clock at the temple by building an overhead tank.
The fund will be used for beautification of the Baladevjew temple besides renovation of the Endowment board office and Yatri Niwas. The area around the temple would be developed after clearing it of all occupations for the proposed projects, said District Collector Samartha Verma.
