Puri: Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) here has served a notice on Ramakrushna Das Mahapatra, secretary of Daitapati Nijog, over his alleged contradictory statements on the Digha temple.
He is accused of creating confusion among countless devotees and followers of Lord Jagannath and tarnishing the dignity of Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri.
The Daitapati servitor has been given 7 days from the receipt of the notice to submit his explanation. If a satisfactory explanation is not received within this period, strict disciplinary action will be taken as per the Shri Jagannath Temple Act, 1955. “Being a senior servitor and secretary of the Daita Nijog, he should not have indulged in these activities. This has shocked devotees,” the SJTA notice stated.
Apart from Ramakrushna, the SJTA chief also summoned the president of Daitapati Nijog Ganeswar Dasmahapatra and questioned him on the controversy.
Soon after the inauguration of the temple at Digha, Ramakrushna told a TV channel in West Bengal about using surplus Daru (neem wood) of 2015 Nabakalebara for carving the deities of the Digha temple. However, he later retracted his statement, saying he had used only neem tree logs to carve out four idols and blamed the electronic media for spreading untruth.
Also Read: Took Idols Made Of Neem Wood To Digha, But ‘Bharma’ Exists Only In Puri: Daitapati Servitor
According to sources, the surplus Daru was stored in the temple’s storeroom to meet emergencies and contingencies. President of Chhatisha Nijog Janardan Pattajoshi Mahapatra, however in a letter to SJTA chief administrator Arabinda Padhee, pointed out the administration had failed to collect the keys from the Daitas during the last Nabakalebar as per the temple administrative procedure.
