Sevayats Of Puri Jagannath Temple To Get Free Land For Houses

Puri: The newly formed Shree Jagannath Temple Management Committee (SJTMC) at its first meeting, here on Thursday decided to set up Srimandir Adarsh Gurukul by next year and provide free land for houses to the sevayats of the temple.

The SJTMC meeting, chaired by Gajapati Dibyasingha Deb, took several decisions on repair of the temple, performing the rituals of the deities and setting up the Gurukul.

On the proposed Gurukul, the committee members decided that a Srimandir Adarsh Gurukul Society would be formed and a fund set up for its development. While the Gajapati will head the society, the state government will sanction Rs 20 crore for the Gurukul for which 17 acre of land has been identified at Matitota in the town. The society will sign an MoU with a private company for construction of the Gurukul.

It was also decided at the meeting that 400 families of the temple’s sevayats belonging to economically weaker section will be allocated land and Rs 2 lakh for construction of their houses.

On repair and maintenance of the temple, the SJTMC decided to request Archaeological Society of India (ASI) to draw up a 5-year plan. The state government and the temple administration will provide financial assistance for the project, if necessary.

On smooth and timely completion of rituals of deities, the committee has constituted 8 sub-committees on various aspects.

Chief secretary Suresh Chandra Mahapatra, Puri collector Samarth Verma, SP Dr Kanwar Vishal Singh and chief administrator of Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) Krishan Kumar were present at the meeting.