Puri

The flood in the Mahanadi river system has displaced over 4.67 lakh people across 12 districts in Odisha. Angul, Bargarh, Boudh, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Jajpur, Kendrapara, Khurda, Nayagarh, Puri, Sambalpur, and Subarnapur are the worst affected districts. Meanwhile, in Puri, the district government has ordered that all schools, both public and private, remain closed for two days due to the current flood situation in the district.

Supreme Court has postponed its decision on a petition claiming illegal excavation and building activities at the Shree Jagannath temple in Puri by the Odisha government until June 3. Justices B R Gavai and Hima Kohli stated that they will issue their decision when the parties' attorneys had finished their arguments. "The state's concept plan aims to provide amenities and beautify the temple," said Odisha Advocate General Ashok Kumar Parija… read-more

The world-famous temple Odisha's Shree Jagannath temple in Puri will reopen from February 1, for devotees after the gap of 21 days with strict Covid-19 protocols. "While the local devotees of Puri will enter the temple through the west gate, other devotees will enter through the eastern entrance," Puri collector Samarth Verma said to India Today. However, the temple will remain closed on Sundays for sanitization purposes. 

Odisha's Puri became the first city in India to provide a 24/7 drinking water supply to the 2.5 lakh population and 2 crore tourists in the city. Inaugurating the ''Drink From Tap'' mission, CM Naveen Patnaik said, ''It's been my dream to provide piped water to every household in Odisha.'' The government has also built 120 drinking water fountains for pilgrims and is looking to increase the mission to 16 cities. 

Renowned sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik won hearts sharing image and videos of his 3D sand artwork of two Santa Clauses holding a large mask at Odisha’s Puri beach. In a record-attempt, Pattnaik has made World’s biggest 3D sand art, measuring 120ft long and 50ft wide. The netizens have lauded his awareness artwork - “Use Mask, Stay Safe”. A Twitterati commented, "What a great 'Man' you are sir".