Bhubaneswar, Feb 8: The Congress today criticised the state government for its failure to create proper infrastructure in Puri for the upcoming Nabakalebar festival.

Nearly 50 lakh people will congregate in Puri to witness the festival in July. During the festival, old idols of Lord Jagannath and his siblings are replaced with new ones.

Pradesh Congress Committee president Prasad Harichandan said: "Lakhs of people will reach Puri to take part in the Nabakalebar. But not a single project, be it road or railways has been completed. The festival is only a few months away."

Harichandan said the state government should keep in mind that it is not the annual rath yatra. It is something much bigger. "Any small mistake will lead to a great disaster. One should not ignore it. If anything wrong happens, the government will be held responsible," he cautioned. He also showed video-footage depicting the excruciatingly slow progress of work.

Senior Congress leader Lalatendu Bidyadhar Mohapatra said: "No time frame is being followed to complete the projects. Major construction works are running behind schedule. Only repeated review meetings will not serve any purpose." He also alleged that there was no co-ordination among various government departments. He said this was the reason why projects were being delayed.

However, Nabakalebar Infrastructure Supervision Committee chairman Maheswar Mohanaty said: "All works are going on in the right direction and will be completed in April, ahead of the Nabakalebar."

In a related development, the Puri administration today decided not to allow anyone to sell mahaprasad inside the premises of the Jagannath temple.

It ruled that mahaparasad would only be sold in Anandabazar, the market place, inside the temple.

The postal department has also launched a special envelope for Nabakalebara. Eminent sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik unveiled the envelope yesterday.

In order to ensure speedy completion of all works relating to the Nabakalebara, the chief minister has decided review the progress of infrastructure works every fortnight.