COMPREHENSIVE DEVELOPMENT PLAN - Puri District

Comprehensive Development Plan – PKDA 2031The Golden beach offers tourists the rare opportunity of witnessing the colorful sunrise and sunset onthe same beach where they can bathe and laze for hours on the golden sands. One can also see andenjoy traditional fishermen playing their catamarans or sail boats and drawing into their nets richcatches of prawn, pomfret and other fish on this long and wide beach extending for miles.Fig 5.12: Various attractions in Puri: Jagannath Temple, Puri beachThe other attraction of Puri is its ancient villages where one can find the oriyan value and culture.Raghurajpur the artesian village is a living museum itself. Every house hold here has a painter and canshow the age old traditional paintings painted lavishly on canvas, silk and other varieties. Pipili is acraft village famous for appliqué work. One can find series of shops decorated with many appliquéworks with bright colors. The varieties are like umbrellas, lamp shades, wall cloths, table covers, sofacovers, children clothes, bed covers and many more.Sakhigopal known otherwise as Satyabadi is famous for the shrine of Lord Krishna. Although thetemple was build during the 19th century, the legend is very strong. Sakhigopal is surrounded by fullof coconut trees. One can visit villages in Sakhigopal. Visits to the villages become more enjoyableduring the festive seasons.The important monuments of the town are: Jagannath Temple, Puri Gundicha Temple, Puri Shyamakali Temple, Puri Siddha Mahavir Temple, Puri Swethaganga Tank, Puri Lokonath Temple, Puri Jambeswar temple, Puri Karar Ashram, Kriyayoga Teaching & Meditation Centre, PuriChilika Lake:It is the largest inland lake in the country spreading over 1100 square kilometers. The Chilika is aparagon of Nature's beauty. The hills inside the lake namely Deepamundia, Kalijugeswar,Ghantasalia, Soleri, Bhaleri and Jatiya create beautiful scenery during sunrise and sunset. Dotted withmany emerald green islands with colorful names such as Honeymoon Island and Breakfast Island,Chilika is the home to a rich variety of aquatic fauna. It is also the sanctuary and winter resort formigratory birds, some coming from as far as Siberia.Fig 5.13: Chilika and Islands in it Fig 5.14: Sunset from Chilika Lake Fig 5.15: Wildlife at ChilikaCEPT, Ahmedabad 116