In a major blow to agitators, Supreme Court-appointed Amicus Curiae Ranjit Kumar on Saturday hailed the Government’s initiative for making Puri a world heritage city and expressed happiness over the 75-metre eviction around the Jagannath Temple for the purpose.
Stating that he along with Solicitor General Tushar Mehta came to Puri to see whether the Government’s Heritage Corridor project work is going on in right direction or it is being done without taking locals into confidence, Kumar said the work is going on perfectly alright and nobody is forced to vacate the area.
“About 15 lakh devotees are expected to throng Puri to witness the Lords’ upcoming Nagarjuna Besha, which will be held after 25 years. Adequate space is required for so many visitors to have a smooth darshan of the Lords.
The Government’s project will benefit servitors, priests, locals and devotees and help in promoting the Jagannath culture further,” said Kumar.
Kumar and Mehta had earlier in the morning paid obeisance to Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra in the sanctum sanctorum.
Kumar also interacted with Puri Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingha Deb and Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) Chief Administrator Krishan Kumar about the Nagarjuna Besha of the deities scheduled next year.