Sambit Patra Demands Answers After ASI Fears Archaeological Remains At Puri Heritage Site May Have Been Destroyed

Puri: A day after the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), in an affidavit filed in the Orissa High Court, said no valid permission or no-objection certificate (NOC) has been given for the Puri Heritage Corridor project, BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra on Tuesday hit out strongly at the Odisha government.

“State govt carried out construction works without approval from competent authority. Isn’t this illegal? Who is answerable?” he tweeted.

“ASI mentioned about frequent changes in DPR. Why was DPR revised so many times?” he asked in another tweet.

“Most important of all, it’s mentioned that excavation may have destroyed archaeological remains of heritage site. Govt should answer who is responsible for this,” he said.

Patra also attacked BJD leader and Puri MP Pinaki Mishra. “In Lok Sabha, Puri MP Pinaki Mishra said that only 4 toilets are being constructed in restricted zone of Jagannath temple. Pinaki Mishra should apologise for this blatant lie,” he said.

Earlier, BJP leader and Bhubaneswar MP Aparajita Sarangi, who was at the forefront of the faceoff between the BJD government and the opposition parties over the Puri Heritage Corridor project, also attacked the Odisha government over the ASI affidavit.

Aparajita has on several occasions engaged in a war of words with the state government as well as Mishra on the issue.

During a visit to Puri last month, she had targeted the MP, saying that “if he was not aware of the goings on pertaining to the heritage corridor project, how do we expect 4.5 crore people of Odisha to know the truth about the construction plans close to the Srimandir”.

Alsp read: https://odishabytes.com/no-permission-granted-for-puri-heritage-corridor-project-asi-tells-hc-govt-says-factual-error/