Bhubaneswar: An Indian investor has pledged Rs 250 crore for construction of a grand Jagannath temple in London.
This was announced by Dr Sahadev Swain, chairperson of Shree Jagannatha Society UK (SJSUK) and Arun Kar, managing director of FINNEST Group at the first Shree Jagannatha Convention London, organised by SJSUK, at the Navnat Centre, UK, in the presence of Gajapati Maharaj of Puri Dibyasingha Deb and Maharani Leelabati Pattamahadei on Sunday.
The investor and chairman of FINNEST Group, Biswanath Patnaik, has pledged to donate the amount for construction of the temple, they said.
Speaking on the occasion, Gajapati Maharaj, expressed his firm belief that with the blessings of Lord Jagannath, the commitment of Shree Jagannatha Society UK to build a grand Jagannatha temple in London will soon become a reality.
“Lord Jagannath is the all-pervading supreme being and the source of all. He is present in this form in the Purushottama Kshetra of Puri as described in the Skanda Purana. The most significant aspect of the tradition of Lord Jagannatha is its all-encompassing universality,” he said.
Dr Swain expressed his confidence that the Jagannath temple in London will become the epicentre of Jagannath culture in Europe and a prominent place of pilgrimage, attracting thousands of devotees and tourists from across the world. He also felicitated Biswanath Patnaik and Arun Kar.
In his message, Patnaik exhorted the devotees to join hands and work together to make the dream of a Jagannath temple a reality at the earliest.
Arun Kar revealed that FINNEST Group has already committed Rs 70 crore towards the purchase of nearly 15
acre of land for the temple. “A suitable plot of land has been identified and is currently in the final stages of
purchase, and a pre-planning application submitted to the local government Council to secure permission for temple construction,” he added.
Over 600 devotees had registered for the convention on Lord Jagannath, which was the first-of-its-kind to be held in Europe.
