SJTA chief, servitors expect Srimandir managing body before March 31

Puri: The Shree Jagannath Temple managing committee will be constituted soon after deliberations by the Odisha government, said Chief Administrator of Sri Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA), Pradeep Kumar Jena, on Sunday.

Jena's response came a day after Puri Gajapati Dibya Singh Dev expressed his displeasure over the delay in reconstitution of the Shree Jagannath Temple managing committee, the apex decision making body for 12th century Puri Srimandir.

"I will not comment on the remarks of Gajapati Maharaja. The SJTA has never thought about going against the recommendations of the managing committee. We expect that it will be constituted soon as the proposals are with government ," said Jena.

The managing committee is expected to be reconstituted before the budget of Shree Jagannath Temple is tabled in the State Assembly, he added.

Senior servitor Ramchandra Das Mohapatra also informed that the managing committee will be constituted before March 31.

"We are hopeful that the managing committee will be reconstituted before March 31 and the budget will definitely be approved. If the budget is not approved the Srimandir will be closed from April 1. The government and SJTA will not let it happen so we expect a positive outcome soon ," said Mohapatra.

Earlier speaking to the media on Saturday, Gajapati Maharaja Dibya Singh Dev had said the delay in reconstitution of the managing committee is creating problems and the government must act soon. It has already been seven months since the tenure of the last panel ended but the government is yet to reconstitute the Srimandir managing committee, he added.

The tenure of the last panel ended on July 23 last year. Though proposal was sent to the Law department for reconstitution of the committee as per guidelines, no step has been taken by the concerned department till date.