Bhubaneswar, Jan 15 (IANS): The Odisha government has announced a holiday on January 17 for all educational institutions and state government offices in view of the inauguration of the Jagannath Temple Heritage Corridor project in Puri on the day.

All the schools, colleges and government offices will remain closed so that the devotees can witness the grand opening event on January 17, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said on Sunday.

The government is anticipating that a huge crowd of devotees will throng the holy city to witness the event.

Rituals for the grand opening of the project have already commenced in Puri from Friday.

Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingha Deb, the 'King of Puri', earlier invited priests for the 'Maha Yajna' scheduled to start with the placing of an 'Akhand Deepa' on Monday.

The Maha Yajna which will be performed by 108 Sotriya Bramhins will culminate with the offering of Purnahuti by Gajapati in the presence of Chief Minister Patnaik on January 17.

Later, Patnaik will walk through the corridor and dedicate the corridor to the public. He is also scheduled to address the devotees present at the event.

Several dignitaries including the Sankaracharayas of all the traditional four mutts and the King of Nepal have been invited to attend the grand opening event.

The 12th-century shrine and the holy city which is expected to witness a footfall of lakhs of devotees will be under a five-tier security blanket during the event.

As many as 66 platoons of police force will be deployed to manage the traffic and security arrangements in the city on the day.