Seeking Centre's intervention in the improvement of roads in the state, the Odisha government today said the Bhubaneswar-Puri national highway needed to be completed before the Nabakalebara festival of Lord Jagannath next year.
"I would like to request you to intervene and use your good office to impress upon the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) and the concessionaire to mobilise all their resources to complete works well before the March, 2015," Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik wrote to Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari.
Stating that Nabakalebara of Lord Jagannth is held once in 12 to 18 years, Patnaik said the state government expected that above 30 lakh devotees would visit Puri to witness this unique religious event.
"During my last review on the progress of work related to this festival, I observed that the progress of the works on the National Highway-316 (erstwhile NH-203) leaves a lot to be desired. The NH-316 serves as the gateway to Puri from Bhubaneswar," he said.
Completion of railway overbridge on the NH near Malatipatpur and Puri by-pass on the same highway along with four-laning of the entire road from Bhubaneswar to Puri is essential before March, 2015.
Patnaik in his letter said that while the state is getting ready for the Nabakalebara festival, NHAI authorities have to substantially improve their pace of work otherwise all plans for tourist traffic management to and from Puri would be completely disrupted.
