Bhubaneswar:25/12/23: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has approved the creation of a dedicated Special Security Battalion for providing full proof security to Puri Srimandir, crowd management and devotee facilitation.
The new battalion would have the primary responsibility of providing foolproof security to the temple and they will be specially trained for better crowd management and tourist/devotee facilitation to ensure a hassle-free and orderly darshan by the devotees.
The Special Security Battalion would have around 1190 personnel, and it would be placed under the command and control of the Superintendent of Police, Puri.
The world-famous Srimandir in Puri has been envisioned and conceptualised to render full-proof security, better facilitation of the devotees, and crowd management measures. The Jagannath temple, the centre of faith for Hindus, draws thousands of devotees every day.
In the post-COVID period, the daily footfall of devotees was estimated to be about 50,000, whereas it doubled and tripled during the weekends and on important religious occasions.
The anticipated flow of devotees is likely to witness a substantial increase after the dedication of the new Heritage Corridor Project – Srimandir Parikrama Prakalp to the public.
It’s an important project under 5T initiatives. Based on the feedback given by Chairman 5T and Navin Odisha VK Pandian after discussion with all the stakeholders, the Chief Minister approved the creation of a dedicated Special Security Battalion for Srimandir.