Jagannath temple committee approves housing scheme for servitors

Bhubaneswar, Aug 27 : The Shree Jagannatha Temple Management Committee (SJTMC) on Thursday approved a detailed plan for housing scheme for temple servitors.The proposal was approved at the first meeting of the newly constituted SJTMC was held under the chairmanship of Gajapati Maharaj Dibyasingha Deb on Thursday in Odishas Puri.

A plot measuring 600 sq.feet will be provided to each sevayat family in the first phase for which eight acres of land for 400 families have been identified on the outskirts of Puri town, said Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) chief administrator Krishan Kumar."Servitors whose financial condition is not so good, will get the benefit and those who are engaged in the daily rituals of the Puri Srimandir will be given priority," he said.

Each sevayat family will also be provided Rs 2 lakh each for the construction of the house.The servitors can further extend their house on the allotted land by spending from their own pockets, Kumar said.

He further said that the committee has decided to set up Adarsh Gurukul in the holy town for the education of children of the servitors.The school will start functioning from the next academic session (2022-23).

A Srimandir Adarsha Gurukul Society will be formed with the Gajapati Maharaja at its chairman and the eminent personalities as the members to run the school, he said.The Gurukul will be built on 17 acres while Gurukul Fund will be formed to receive donations from individuals and organisations.

The state government will bear the entire cost (around Rs 20 crore) towards the construction of the Gurukul, the chief administrator said.Besides, the SJTA had earlier received some money from the Supreme Court to set up the Gurukul.

The money will be used for the purpose, he added.For the repair and conservation work of the temple, the SJTMC has decided to ask the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to formulate a five-year plan.

The wheels and other parts of the chariots of the holy trinity after Rath Yatra will be provided to devotees free of cost.A sub-committee will be formed to decide which individual or organisation will get the wheels and other parts of the chariots.

The selection will be made through a lottery system in case there are more interested applicants," he added.