Reliance Jio may provide Wi-Fi service during Nabakalebara

If things go as planned, the pilgrims thronging the holy town Puri during the grand 'Nabakalebara' festival can access to the Wi-Fi connectivity.

"Efforts are being made to provide Wi-Fi connectivity at Puri. Reliance Jio has proposed to provide the service during Nabakalebara," Pranab Prakash Das, state IT minister told Business Standard.

"We are working on the proposal (of the company)," he added.

Mukesh Ambani owned Reliance Jio is among the telecom players who have expressed interest to create the proof of concept (PoC) for the Bhubanaeswar city Wi-Fi project. Others keen to participate in the project are Airtel, city based Ortel communications, Vodafone, to name a few.

Sources said, Reliance Jio has offered to create the PoC during July at Puri. The Grand Road of Puri will be provided over-the-air internet connectivity during the month.

Nabakalebara festival signifies the change of idols of Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra, Subhadra and Sudarshan with a new set of idols.

The grand fest is projected to draw a turnout of nearly 10 million people.

The state government has undertaken massive promotion activities to celebrate the extravaganza.

A state-of-the-art website, developed at a cost of Rs 29 lakh, along with mobile apps and social media campaign (on facebook, twitter and Google+) have been launched to promote the festival.

The state IT department has requested Google India for a 'Google Doodle' for the event on the Google homepage. 'Google Doodle' is a temporary alteration in logo on the Google homepage to mark celebration of different festivals, holidays and achievements of eminent people.

State IT secretary PK Jena has recently asked all revenue divisional commissioners, district collectors and superintendents of police to display the Nabakalebara banner on official websites of districts and portals of subordinate offices.