Odisha plans free ‘mahaprasad’ for Puri temple devotees

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government is planning to distribute the ‘mahaprasad’ at Puri’s Jagannath temple to devotees free of cost, Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan said on Sunday.

The State government has decided to launch the scheme in view of the fact that whenever devotees return home after ‘darshan’ at Jagannath temple, their family and neighbours eagerly wait for the ‘mahaprasad.’

Harichandan said the free distribution of the ‘mahaprasad’ will entail an additional expenditure of Rs 14-15 crore per year for the government.  “We are trying to involve a few devotees who are financially sound to come forward and join hands in this initiative. Some of them have already agreed to support the move,” he said.

The implementation process is likely to start after the holy Odia ‘Kartik’ month (two months), the minister said.