BHUBANESWAR: Rathas (chariots) accompanied by kirtan mandalis will move from house to house in every village of the state to collect rice and betel nut from January 9 for a week. The items will then be consecrated at the local Jagannath temples on the inaugural day of the Srimandir Parikrama project on January 17 in Puri.
All block development officers (BDOs) have been asked to arrange cultural programmes with live telecast of the Parikrama project through a big LED screen. Similar arrangements will also be made at the gram panchayat level.
In a letter to all collectors on Tuesday, principal secretary in the Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water Sushil Lohani asked officials to arrange vehicles appropriate for a Rath. The vehicles will be properly decorated accompanied by light and sound in view of the programme, he said.
Sources said a provision of Rs 135.88 crore has been made by the state government for these activities at the gram panchayat level. Rs 2 lakh each has been allocated to all the 6,794 gram panchayats for the celebrations.
While prasad sevan for the devotees will be organised in the Jagannath temples at the local level, different cultural activities will be held at the block and panchayat levels before the inauguration of the project and on the day of inauguration befitting the occasion.
Similarly, budgetary allocation of Rs 20 crore, which will be distributed among the blocks equally, has been made for mobilisation of people from the block headquarters to Puri to witness the Parikrama project inauguration.