Thousands throng Puri on New Year's Day

Thousands of devotees Thursday thronged the Jagannath Temple in Puri, Odisha to seek blessings from the lord on New Year's Day.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik with Culture and Tourism Minister Ashok Panda and other MLAs also sought the blessing from the lord.

Every year, thousands of devotees visit this temple to seek blessings from the lord for a healthy and bountiful New Year. In the view of a large gathering, the district administration and temple authority have made elaborate arrangements, erecting barricades to avoid stampede like situation.

"We have made elaborate security arrangements to avoid any untoward incident, while barricades have been erected to have smooth passage for the devotees," temple chief administrator Bikash Chandra Mohapatra said.

The district administration and city traffic police have restricted the movement of vehicles in several areas of the city.