Puri: The management of Laxmi temple inside Puri Srimandir will come under the purview of Sri Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) and its functioning will be reviewed every three months.
New guidelines will be shortly formulated in this regard, informed SJTA chief administrator Pradeep Jena after a meeting with servitors on Tuesday.
"The existing practice of 'autonomous temple' will be abolished and the Laxmi temple will be brought under the control of SJTA," said Jena after the meeting.
Moreover, in a bid to ensure transparency, the ornaments of the Goddess Laxmi will be counted on Thursday and recorded.
The meeting was held with Laxmi temple servitors and it was decided to streamline affairs, management and other activities. The meeting was convened to resolve the controversy between servitors and SJTA over the gold crown of goddess Laxmi that is reportedly missing.
As per new proposals, all the articles including ornaments that are used for ‘sringar’ of the deity will be issued from central store and guidelines will be formulated in this regard.
“The servitors have been asked not to take out any ornaments of the deity without necessary permission. A code of conduct will also be made for servitors on how they should behave with devotees,” Jena added.