Homestead Land For Jagannath Temple Sevayats; Lords’ Chariots Wheels To Be Given For Free

Puri: The sevayats of Jagannath Temple here will be allotted homestead land for the construction of houses.

This decision was taken at the Jagannath Temple Managing Committee meeting presided over by chief administrator of Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) Krishan Kumar on Thursday.

Talking to mediapersons after the meeting, Kumar said land measuring 600 sq feet will be provided to each sevayat families in the first phase for which eight acres of land for 400 families has been identified on the outskirts of Puri town.

For the allotment of the land, SJTA will invite applications from the sevayats who are innately associated with the daily rituals of the Lords, he said.

“The sevayat families will also be provided Rs 2 lakh each for construction of the house. They can further extend their house on the allotted land by spending from their own pockets,” he added.

The SJTA chief further said that Srimandir Gurukul for the children of the sevayats will start functioning from the next academic session. A Srimandir Adarsha Gurukul Society will be formed with the Gajapati Maharaja at its chairman and the eminent personalities as the members.

“The Gurukul will be built on 17 acres at Matitota while Gurukul Fund will be formed to receive donations from the individuals and organisations. The state government will bear the entire cost towards the construction of the Gurukul,” Kumar pointed out.

For the repair and conservation works of the temple, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) will be asked to formulate a five-year plan.

Stating that the SJTA and the ASI will take a joint decision on the conservation of the 12th-century shrine, Kumar said that the state government will provide financial assistance if required.

The meeting also decided that chariot wheels of the Lords will be provided to the devotees for free.

“A sub-committee will be assigned the task to select the devotees/organisations. A lottery system will be adopted if there are too many applications,” Kumar said.