Deities not to be shifted for Puri temple repair

Odisha Channel Bureau Puri, Aug 24: The temple managing body of Sri Jagannath temple here has ruled out shifting of the deities from the sanctum sanctorum of the temple to facilitate repairs to Jagamohan.Archaeological survey of India, which has been engaged to conserve and repair this 12th Century temple since 1972, had earlier asked the temple body to shift the deities from the sanctum sanctorum to repair the Jagamohan.Members reached a consensus on Sunday that shifting could be avoided by rescheduling the time for observance of daily rituals of the deities.They said the rituals of the deities including the bhog would be completed by 11 am everyday and then the ASI could repair the damaged Jagamohan and stop the work by 6 pm daily so that the evening nitees of the deities would be performed.The repairs should begin after the month long Kartika Brata was over, the members suggested.The repairs could be conducted from November last, and till then the ASI should fix scaffolding to protect the roof.The temple body asked the ASI superintendent A.K.Patel to specify the expected time required for completion of repairs and its cost.The temple body approved the proposal to sell seven acres of temple land located near Jatani to the Indian Oil Corporation at a rate of Rs.1.5 crore per acre.The temple body also approved an apartment project for the 48 homeless temple servitors to be developed on the Gopal Tirth mutt compound.This apart it approved for establishment of an English medium school for the servitors’ children.The temple managing body endorsed the action taken by the temple Chief Administrator Suresh Chandra Mahapatra over the Brahma Parivartan mismanagement issue.Gajapati Dibyasingha Deb, chairman of the temple body, presided over the meeting while the District collector Aravind Agarwal, Superintendent of Police Ashis Kumar Singh, ASI superintendent A.K.Patel and other members participated in the meeting.