Chandigarh/Bhubaneswar: Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has urged his Odisha counterpart, Naveen Patnaik, not to demolish Mangu Mutt in Puri associated with Sikh faith and its founder Guru Nanak Dev.
In a letter, Amarrinder said that the move to demolish the Mutt was unfortunate as it had age-old significance for the Sikh community and Guru Nanak Dev had also visited the Pilgrim Town to spread the universal message of oneness of God.
“Set up in 1615 by Bhai Almast, a Sikh preacher and head of Dhuari of the Udasi Sect. Guru Tegh Bahadur had also visited the Mangu Mutt in 1670,” he noted.
The Punjab CM further said that while on one hand the whole world is readying to commemorate the 550th Prakash Purb of its first Sikh Guru, on the other a symbol of the connection between Sikhism and the Jagannath Temple was being demolished by the state government.
The Mutt was an abode of the Nanak Panthis, who took the Jagannath culture to North India. The Image of Baba Shri Chand, the son of Guru Nanak, is kept inside the Mutt, he added.
On August 23, the Odisha Chief Minister had announced Rs 500 crore for various infrastructure projects in Puri, and measures to be taken for demolition of structures within 75-metre radius of the 12th century shrine temple, specifically Meghnad Pacheri (boundary wall), in Puri for safety and security of the temple structure.
Following which, the Puri district administration launched an eviction drive under which Languli Mutt, Emar Mutt and Bada Akhada Mutt were pulled down for creation of the security zone.
On September 11, the Sikh community of Odisha had requested Naveen to protect mutts in Puri associated with Sikh faith from being demolished in the ongoing reforms being carried out in the Pilgrim Town.
Lawyer Sukhvinder Kaur and historian Anil Dhir, representing the Sikh community, said that these mutts are intricately linked to Jagannath culture.
Also read: Odisha CM Urged To Protect Puri Mutts Associated With Sikh Faith
After elaborating on the importance of these structures, the duo urged the administration to leave the Gadi (founder’s seat) and the Sanctum Sanctorum intact and only bulldoze the commercial establishments and illegal structures.
