Puri: The future of a proposed interpretation centre at Srijagannath Ballav mutt here has been pushed into uncertainty as construction work for the project is yet to be completed by the Tourism department.
The interpretation centre has been mooted to popularise Jagannath culture among the tourists and boost the tourism sector in the Holy City here.
Puri city has occupied a special place in the tourism of Odisha. Thousands of visitors from across the country and abroad usually throng to the coastal city to visit Srimandir, the abode of Lord Jagannath and enjoy quality time on the golden beach.
Besides, the city has several ancient mutts and temples to attract tourists. In this context, an interpretation centre at Srijagannath Ballav mutt was mooted to inform details on Jagannath culture to the tourists.
A building for the proposed interpretation centre had been constructed a few years ago. However, the authorities concerned are yet to begin the interior work for the project, sources said.
It is learnt that the Tourism department had prepared a blueprint to carry out the interior work for the interpretation centre. A meeting in this regard was convened at the office of Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) here February 5 last year. The meeting had decided to implement the project by January 2020.
As per the decision taken at the meeting, the interpretation centre would display various Besha (attires) of Lord Jagannath and the history, tradition and rituals of Srimandir. The interpretation centre was also supposed to display details on the annual Rath Yatra and the tradition and culture of Puri city.
The meeting had also decided to use 3D technology to display details on Srimandir and Lord Jagannath. A Delhi-based private firm was roped in by the Tourism department to design the interior of the interpretation centre.
The Tourism department constituted a sub-committee comprising a few researchers and members of Shree Jagannath Temple Managing Committee to supervise the interior work. However, the project is yet to see the light of the day. It is worth mentioning here that the authorities concerned had decorated the boundary walls of the proposed interpretation centre with stone-carved artwork. However, the artwork has been covered with creepers in the absence of maintenance work.
Notably, the state government has decided to construct a pilgrim centre and a multilevel parking lot at Srijagannath Ballav mutt as part of a plan to develop Puri into a heritage city.