Bhubaneswar: Following delay in release of a commemorative coin on Lord Jagannath's Nabakalebara festival, Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Thursday asked the Odisha government to speed up furnishing designs and photos of the deity to the central government for the purpose.
Pradhan sought the intervention of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to direct the Shree Jagannath Temple Managing Committee, Puri, to furnish few designs for issuance of the commemorative coin.
"In the interest of popular Odia sentiments on Lord Jagannath, I shall be grateful if you could kindly look into the matter and issue necessary advice to the managing committee, Puri to furnish a few designs/photos of Lord Jagannath expeditiously," said Pradhan in a letter to Patnaik.
He said that the culture ministry has been requesting the committee to furnish a few designs/photos of Lord Jagannath but it has sought time to finalise new designs/photos of the deities.
Letters were written to the managing committee thrice - on February 11, February 24, and April 7 - for providing the design, he added.