Meeting On Jagannath Temple Reforms Proposal Today

Puri: The Jagannath Temple Managing Committee will have another round of meeting with the Chhatisha Nijog (a body of servitors) to discuss the 12-point reforms proposal of the Supreme Court.

The meeting to be presided over by the Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingh Deb will seek the opinion of the servitors on those 12 proposals.

Among others, Puri collector Jyotiprakash Dash and SP Sarthak Sarangi will also remain present at the meeting.

On the basis of the opinion of the servitors, the Committee will file an affidavit in the apex court on September 5.

Meanwhile, the Chhatisha Nijog, in a release on Friday evening, categorically said that the statement given by the chief administrator of the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) Pradipta Mohapatra to the media on August 13 that barring the three proposals, the servitors had agreed for implementation of the nine proposals is not true and grossly misleading.

Mohapatra had said that the servitors have opposed the three proposals viz., Dana Dakshina, Annadana Atika and amendment in the Temple Act for the abolition of hereditary services of the servitors while they have unanimously agreed on the remaining nine proposals, the release said.

“The Temple Managing Committee had a meeting with us on the 12 proposals of the Supreme Court. The meeting discussed these proposals. But there was no opinion by the servitors’ body on these proposals,” senior servitor Binayak Dasmohapatra told mediapersons here on Saturday.