Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government will soon write to West Bengal over naming of a new temple at Digha as ‘Jagannath Dham,’ Law Minister Prithviraj Harichandan said on Sunday.
The Minister said he would discuss the issue with Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi of the issue after which appropriate steps would be taken and a letter sent to the West Bengal government.
Stressing that Odisha’s pilgrim town of Puri is traditionally known as Jagannath Dham as it is one of the Char Dhams in the country, he said no other place or shrine can be described as Jagannath Dham.
Besides writing to the West Bengal government, Odisha may also take legal recourse on the issue in order to safeguard the sanctity of Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri, Harichandan told reporters.
The state government had earlier ordered a probe into the controversies surrounding the newly-built Jagannath temple at Digha in West Bengal.
There were reports that surplus neem wood (sacred Daru) from Nabakalebar rituals at Puri Jagannath temple were used for making the idols at Digha shrine.
Ramakrushna Dasmahapatra, senior Daitapati servitor at Puri Jagannath temple, reportedly told some media channels in West Bengal that surplus neem wood pieces from 2015 Nabakalebar rituals at the 12th century shrine were used in making the idols. However, he denied having made any such statement.
The Law Minister has asked chief administrator of Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) , Puri, Arabinda Padhee to conduct a probe into the entire episode.
Some servitors of Puri Jagannath temple, including Dasmahapatra, had reportedly attended the inauguration of Digha temple recently.
The SJTA has already held discussions with representatives of the Chhatisha Nijoga, a body of servitors of the 36 traditional categories of Puri Jagannath Temple.
