Mrunal Manmay Dash

The Jagannath Reception Centre, which was being constructed inside the prohibited area under the Srimandir Parikrama Project, will now be shifted to a farther location.

The decision was taken at the Project’s Cultural Advisory Committee (CAC) meeting held on Wednesday, informed the Srimandir Managing Committee on Thursday.

As per the information, a slew of decisions involving the project was taken in the meeting which was chaired by Puri King Gajapati Divyasingha Deb.

The proposed outer access road to the project will be moved out of the project area and will be constructed after acquisition of more land. This apart, some more changes will be done as per the direction of ASI DG, the Committee said.

Keeping the religious sentiments of the devotees in view, the construction will be held in such a way that the view of the Temple is not obstructed for the devotees.

The Parikrama Project for which the State government has been facing continuous attacks from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over its legality, is a part of the ambitious Srimandir Heritage Corridor.

Earlier on Wednesday, the sub-divisional judicial magistrate (SDJM) court in the pilgrim town had ordered filing of case against Puri District Collector, Odisha Bridge & Construction Corporation (OBCC) and Tata Projects. Hearing a petition filed by an advocate over the ongoing project, the court had asked the Singhadwar Police to register the case.

Recently, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) had told the Orissa High Court that the deep excavation and construction works undertaken by the Odisha government most-probably have damaged the archaeological remains around the 12th century shrine.

The Odisha government came under fire following the filing of the ASI affidavit in the HC. The Opposition also wasted no time in targeting the government for allegedly carrying out the project without obtaining the necessary permission from the ASI.

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