Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Puri, July 5:

If you are planning to visit the Holy town to witness the annual Rath Yatra in Odisha’s Puri on Wednesday then you need to know the revised route to reach your destination. There have been several changes in the travel route to the city keeping in view the huge footfall of tourists in one of the grandest religious carnival.

traffic management puri

The district administration has prepared a blueprint for routing of the traffic through alternate routes to ease congestion ahead of the festival.

As per IG Sanjib Panda, in-charge of traffic control in the city, elaborate traffic arrangements have been made for the movement of vehicles. The visitors heading towards Puri on a four-wheeler will take a left turn after Malatipatapur bus terminal and take the rail overbridge towards marine drive. From there, they will move towards Talabania where parking facilities for four-wheelers are available.

On return journey from the Holy city towards Bhubaneswar, the visitors will move through Grid Station, New Nabakalebara Road and touch the national highway at Biraharekrushnapur.

On the other hand, the two-wheelers will enter the Puri town through Mangala Ghat after crossing Malatipatapur bus terminal and Biraharekrushnapur. Three parking lots have been earmarked for bikers at Jagannath Ballav, Majana Jaga and Mashani Chandi. There is no change in the return path of the two-wheeler riders.

The passengers visiting the city on private buses will have to alight at the Talabania bus terminal as the buses are diverted to the temporary terminal every year to avoid traffic snarls. From there, they can take rickshaw and auto rickshaw to reach the Grand Road.

Similarly, the tourist buses will be parking their vehicles at the Malatipatapur bus terminal from where shuttle bus service has been introduced to ferry the passengers to the city till Athar Nala on paid basis.

Notably, there have been 98 human-only points identified in the city for the entry of tourists to the Grand Road to witness the Rath Yatra festival. Beyond these points, no vehicles will be allowed.

It may be mentioned here that real-time traffic information will be available on Puri police website (www.puripolice.nic.in), Facebook page of Puri police (Puri Rath Yatra Traffic) and the android app of Puri police named ‘Puri Police’.

The restriction on plying of vehicles on the regular route will come into effect from 6 am on Wednesday till July 17. For more info go to www.puripolice.nic.in