Puri Jagannath temple favourite destination for NRIs participating in Pravasi Bharatiya Divas

Bhubaneswar: The Jagannath temple in Puri has turned out to be a major tourist destination for members of the Indian diaspora who participated at the 18th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) conclave here.

According to state Tourism Department officials, the 28 tourist destinations identified in four districts - Puri, Khurda (Bhubaneswar), Cuttack and Jajpur - have witnessed a footfall of 3,400 NRIs during the first two days (January 8 and 9) of the convention.

Of them, 2,300 visited the Jagannath temple at Puri along with other nearby designations including Sun Temple at Konark and Raghurajpur art village, said a department official who is taking care of the NRI tourists.

Meenika Guness, a Hindu NRI from Mauritius, said she felt blessed after visiting the Jagannath temple for the first time.

“We have been staying in Mauritius for the last four generations. I got an opportunity to visit India to attend the PBD. So, I came here and got the opportunity to visit the Jagannath temple. It is a very sacred place. It is like a dream come true for me as I usually visit Hindu temples in Mauritius,” she said.

Babulal Kanojia, an NRI businessman based in Oman, said he visited the Jagannath temple at Puri on Thursday.

"It was a wonderful time for me. My visit to Odisha has become successful with that," he said.

Ritwik, an NRI settled in Kuwait, has planned to visit the Sun Temple and Puri Jagannath temple during his stay in Odisha.

Special arrangements have been made at the tourist destinations including the 12th century Jagannath temple for smooth visit of the international guests, he said.

Apart from the Jagannath temple, the guests also visited the Blue Flag beach and spent some time at the beach festival, and kite festival, underway in the holy town of Puri.

Similar arrangements have also been made at the Sun Temple.

Other facilities such as deployment of guides, security personnel, help desks and souvenir shops have been arranged for the overseas guests, said the official, who didn't want to be named.

Members of the diaspora are visiting places of tourist interest through packages offered by the Tourism Department or their own arrangements.