Bhubaneswar, Jan 1 (IANS) The Hindu holy town of Puri in Odisha witnessed a heavy rush Sunday with thousands of devotees and tourists offering prayers at the 12th century Jagannath temple on New Year’s Day, an official said.
‘More than five lakh people have arrived in the city from different parts of the country. The majority of them offered prayers at the temple today (Sunday),’ Laxmidhar Puja Panda, the public relations officer of the Jagannath temple, told IANS.
Among those who visited the temple were Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, some of his ministers and senior bureaucrats, Panda said.
A large number of tourists also preferred to enjoy the beginning of 2012 at the beach, he said.
Most of the hotels in this beach city, some 56 km from state capital Bhubaneswar, have witnessed a rush prompting their operators to recruit additional staff to meet the demand, a hotel owner said.
The district authorities have deployed hundreds of additional policemen and made elaborate security arrangements to avoid any untoward incident.
