New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday directed minister of state in the Prime Minister' Office ( PMO) Jitendra Prasad and Union Tourism and Culture minister Mahesh Sharma to take necessary measures to expedite the ongoing repair and restoration work of Jagmohan of Shri Jagannath temple in Puri.
The directive of the Prime Minister came after his meeting with four BJP leaders from Odisha—KV Singhdeo, Sangita Singhdeo, Bijay Mahapatra and Dilip Ray— earlier in the day.
During the meeting, the state BJP leaders brought to the notice of the Prime Minister the tardy pace of repair and restoration work of Jagmohan in Shri Jagannath temple and urged him to entrust the an official of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) to monitor the work for its early completion.
“The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) should not delay the repair work in Shri Jagannath temple. Let the PMO get all technical inputs and monitor and expedite the repair work of Jagmohan. The Prime Minister expressed his keenness on this matter and entrusted the monitoring responsibility to the Minister of State in PMO Jitendra Singh and assured us that he will take all necessary measures in this regard,” Bijay Mahapatra told media persons after the meeting.
BJP leader Dilip Ray said the Prime Minister realised the slow pace of repair and restoration work in Shri Jagannath temple and directed Union Tourism and Culture minister Mahesh Sharma and Jitendra Singh to urgently convene a meeting on this issue.