Overview

• Starting July 5, the government has ordered the formal process to merge Puri Municipality with seven to eight gram panchayats from Puri Sadar and Brahmagiri blocks into Puri Mahanagara Nigam
• Puri will become Odisha’s sixth municipal corporation following Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Berhampur, Sambalpur and Rourkela
• The upgrade is intended to address narrow lanes, open drains and underutilized beachfronts that hinder services for residents and the lakhs of devotees who visit annually
• Initial planning has begun for a world-class Shree Jagannath Museum, Library and Research Center on a single premises to preserve and promote regional heritage
• The statewide reform forms part of Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi’s vision for economic prosperity through urban modernization and enhanced spiritual tourism