Odisha Govt Raises Concern Over Conduct Of Maha Shiv Ratri, Seeks Withdrawl Of NMA Bylaws

Bhubaneswar: Chief Secretary Suresh Chandra Mahapatra on Monday urged  Culture Secretary Raghvendra Singh to withdraw draft heritage bylaws issued by National Monument Authority (NMA) for Ananta Basudev and Brahmeswar temples in Ekamra Khetra of the Odisha capital.

He wrote that the bylaws had triggered discontentment among sevayats and devotees as these temples host living deities and the publication was done without any consultation with stakeholders.

He said that there were serious apprehensions of widespread agitation, which could disturb day-to-day rituals in the temples and hurt religious sentiments of lakhs of devotees.

The Chief Secretary further stressed the need for a peaceful atmosphere and full cooperation of sevayats for conducting the Maha Shiv Ratri festival on March 11.

“In view of the same, the state government strongly recommends immediate withdrawal of the draft heritage bylaws relating to the aforesaid temples,” said Mahapatra.

He also suggested that the NMA should consult stakeholders, including sevayats, temple administration and the state government, in matters where the living deity and rituals are interlinked.

Notably, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had on Saturday tweeted, suggesting the Chief Secretary to examine every point of the draft bylaws and write a letter to the Secretary of Culture Ministry, listing out the objections.

Also Read: Dharmendra Counters Odisha’s Opposition To NMA Bylaws With Twitter Thread

The Temple Trust Board and Endowment Commissioner had earlier written to the Member Secretary, NMA, for the immediate withdrawal of the draft notification relating to Ekamra Khetra.

A delegation of BJD MPs from Odisha had also met Union Culture Minister Prahlad Singh Patel over this issue on Sunday.

It is pertinent to mention here that Union Minister Pratap Sarangi on Sunday had informed that the Centre would withdraw the bylaws for the temples in Bhubaneswar soon.