PURI, ODISHA — A day after geophysical survey results confirmed the presence of a previously unmapped tunnel network and significant archaeological remains beneath the 12th-century Jagannath Temple complex, the Puri district administration on Wednesday declared the week of March 25–31 as 'Sacred Archaeology Week,' a move expected to reshape the region's cultural tourism landscape for months to come.

The announcement, made jointly by Puri District Collector Samarth Verma and the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA), calls for controlled archaeological observation walks along the temple's outer perimeter, curated exhibition tents in the Badadanda grand avenue, and a dedicated lecture series at the Odisha State Museum's Puri satellite facility. The Archaeological Survey of India confirmed it would deploy a specialist team from its Bhubaneswar circle by Thursday morning to begin a formal documentation phase of the subsurface findings.

Travel platforms reported a sharp spike in bookings to Puri within hours of Wednesday's announcement. MakeMyTrip confirmed a 340 percent increase in hotel search traffic for the Puri corridor compared to the same Wednesday last year, with budget guesthouses near the Singhadwara gate selling out before noon. IndiGo Airlines added a supplementary Bhubaneswar–Delhi flight effective Friday to accommodate demand, while Odisha Tourism's official helpline received over 12,000 calls by midday.

Religious scholars and lifestyle commentators are framing the discovery as a convergence of India's twin hungers — spiritual pilgrimage and experiential heritage travel. Dr. Subhashree Mohanty, a cultural historian at Utkal University, told reporters gathered outside the temple's eastern gate that the tunnel findings 'do not diminish the sacred; they deepen it, giving the faithful a material thread connecting them to Kalinga's ancient civilisation.' Her remarks were widely shared across Indian lifestyle and travel media throughout the morning.

The SJTA has emphasised that the sanctum sanctorum and daily rituals — including the Mahaprasad distribution serving an estimated 50,000 devotees daily — will continue entirely undisturbed. Temple administrator Arabinda Padhee stated that a joint committee of sevayats, archaeologists, and state government representatives would convene on Friday to establish protocols ensuring that heritage documentation proceeds with full respect for the living religious tradition. The committee's first recommendations are expected before the end of Sacred Archaeology Week, setting a potential national template for managing active worship sites with newly discovered archaeological significance.