Study of Various Government Initiatives and Schemes to Enhance the Character of Indian Heritage and Religious Streets: A Case of Puri

Abstract

India consists of seven holy pilgrimage cities and the Chardhams located in the four cardinal directions. The seven pilgrimage cities include Varanasi, Dwarka, Mathura, Ayodhya, Hardwar, Ujjain and Kanchipuram and the Chardhams include Puri in East, Badrinath in North, Dwarka in West and Rameshwaram in South. All these holy cities have a distinct character and religious fervor and follow traditions and rituals from over the years passed from one generation to other. They are visited annually by millions of pilgrims and tourists of different age groups, social strata, economic background to conduct their pilgrimage. Due to urbanization, there has been a tremendous impact on the character of the city. With an increased number of pilgrims and tourists, there has been an increased demand on the infrastructure of the city. As a result, there is a boom in the developments taking place to cater to the rising demands. The increase in development has resulted in degradation of the religious and sacred environment of the cities, thereby gaining significant attention from the Government of India. The study aims to highlight and review the various government initiatives and schemes for the redevelopment of these religious and heritage cities and will focus on the city of Puri, a religious, historic, pilgrimage and tourist city.