Rs 1542-Cr Plan Outlay for Puri

The Nava-kalevera ceremony at Lord Jagannath temple

Can I climb the Ratha and touch Jagannath?

Ratha Yatra Preparations at Jagannath Puri

PURI: The District Plan Monitoring Committee on Saturday passed a comprehensive district plan outlay of `1542 crore for the financial year of 2014-15.

In wake of the ensuing Nabakalebara Festival of the Trinity, a special allocation of `3.66 crore has been made under tourism head for widening and development of NH-203A from Puri to Alarnath temple under Brahmagiri block. This apart, around `1.5 crore has been earmarked for development of Deuli Mutt and Mangala temple at Kakatpur and `3.5 crore for creating temporary pilgrim shelters for one lakh devotees in Puri. 

Earlier, the Government has decided to develop temporary shelters in Puri to provide accommodation to tourists thronging the town during Nabakalebara. These shelters will be designed on the lines of those provided during the Kumbh Mela in Allahabad, Haridwar, Nasik and Ujjain.

Over 30 lakh devotees are expected to throng Puri to witness the Nabakalebara which will be celebrated in June next year after a gap of 19 years. The existing idols of the Trinity and Sudarshan will be replaced by a new set of idols. Preparations for Nabakalebara would begin from March next year and culminate with Rath Yatra on June 15, sources in the temple administration said.

Apart from funds for Nabakalebara preparations, the committee has set aside `8122.14 lakh for development of agriculture in the district, while `19,552 lakh have been earmarked for rural development. For drainage, irrigation and flood control measures, an amount of `10,410.25 lakh has been sanctioned.

Revenue Minister Bijayshree Routray presided over the meeting and legislators of six Assembly segments of the district and Collector Aravind Agarwal were present.

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Sanwar Lal Jat: Nepal’s Sarda river identified to be linked with Yamuna

Revival of Ganga and Yamuna - the struggle goes on

Spiritual Significance of Ganga and Yamuna

New Delhi, Dec 22 (PTI) The Sarda river in Nepal has been identified for connecting with river Yamuna as the Sarda-Yamuna link, Rajya Sabha was informed today.

Besides, Sarda, also known as Mahakali there, the Ghaghra river (known as Karnali river in Nepal) has been identified for linking with the Yamuna, Minister of State for Water Resource Sanwar Lal Jat said.

“Both these links are identified under the Himalayan river component of the national perspective plan,” he said in a written reply.

The plan was formulated by the Water Resource Ministry in 1980 for inter-basin transfer of water from surplus basins to deficit basins, he said.

Replying to a separate question, he said Rajasthan is not receiving its due share of water from the Yamuna and blamed Uttar Pradesh and Haryana for this.

He said Uttar Pradesh and Haryana have repeatedly been advised to release the agreed share of water to Rajasthan from Okhla barrage and to stop unauthorised lifting of canal water by their farmers in their territories.

“Advisories have been issued to these states in September, October and November,” he said.

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Revival model for Yamuna may vary from Sabarmati

Revival of Ganga and Yamuna - the struggle goes on

Spiritual Significance of Ganga and Yamuna

The restoration plan for the dirty Yamuna may not be a complete copy of the Sabarmati river front development project in Gujarat as the two rivers’ ecological models are different, say Delhi environment department officials who visited Ahmedabad for studying the Sabarmati revival model.

Delhi’s Environment and Forest Secretary Sanjiv Kumar said: “Both Sabarmati and Yamuna have separate ecological models and environment.”

“There cannot be a straight jacket solution...that we can copy and apply in the case of Yamuna,” he said.

Sources in the Delhi government said Delhi is better placed than Ahmedabad in terms of relocating slums from river banks. “We have very nearly freed the river bed of slums but in Ahmedabad this continues to be a challenge,” he said.

“The concrete wall along Sabarmati is used not only to channelise the river but also as a curtain to hide the slums abutting the river,” said an official source. No decision has yet been taken whether Yamuna will also get a concrete pavement and wall along the river’s entire length in the city as has been the case with the Sabarmati river front development, he said.

“The flow of fresh water in Sabarmati is slow which is one of the reasons for causing problems like water algae growth,” said another official, claiming that in Delhi they would not want a clean Yamuna to face a similar problem.

There are proposals to make Yamuna navigable like Sabarmati but Delhi officials said the source of fresh water in both the rivers may be different.

“In Delhi, the Yamuna is likely to carry treated sewage water, where as in Sabarmati fresh water from the Narmada dam is released to keep it alive,” said another official.
“The interceptor drains project in Delhi, for trapping and treating sewage before dropping it into the Yamuna, will be completed by June 2015,” said Sanjiv Kumar.

In Sabarmati river’s case, the sewage from drains that was falling into the river has been diverted into a large drain which runs parallel to the rejuvenated river and carries the sewage to treatment plants, said an official, adding that Ahmedabad has sewage treatment capacity in excess of its current requirement .

Delhi, on the other hand, is still short of adequate waste water treatment capacity.
The total waste water generation in Delhi is about 700 million gallons per day (MGD), out of which more than 80 per cent is domestic sewage and the rest is industrial waste.

The installed sewage treatment capacity in the capital is 604 MGD and the capacity utilisation is a low 60 per cent. To add to Yamuna’s pollution, 45 per cent of the sewage in authorised colonies is still untapped and falls untreated into the Yamuna.

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Devotees throng Jagannath Temple for ‘Pahili Bhoga’

ISKCON Bangalore Temple

The Nava-kalevera ceremony at Lord Jagannath temple

Can I climb the Ratha and touch Jagannath?

Ratha Yatra Preparations at Jagannath Puri

Thousands of devotees waited patiently for ‘Pahili Bhoga’ (first offering) of the Trinity in Odisha’ pilgrim town of Puri on the occasion of Dhanu Sankranti on Tuesday.

The special offering came out of the  Jagannath Temple more than an hour behind schedule. But that did not deter devotees from eagerly waiting for their share.

On this special day, mother Yashoda cooks for Lord Jagannath, brother Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra, the presiding deities of Puri, in the absence of goddess Laxmi on this special occasion during the lunar Pousha in the Hindu almanac.

“Pahili Bhoga”, the morning offering which started on Tuesday, will continue till  Makar Sankranti day on January 13, 2015. Dhanu Muan, a sweet offering, is part of the menu of the deities during this month.

During the month-long festivity, mahaprasad, the cooked offerings, becomes more attractive and sought after. The menu list becomes large with addition of various mouth-watering dishes. Cakes made of blackgram and curd based preparations are also added t the menu during this  period. Apples, oranges, grapes are added to the curd and in another dish carrots are mixed.

A remarkable feature of this period is that bhog is available early. This early day meal is known as “Pahili Bhoga” which is offered to the deities soon after the breakfast.

According to Hindu mythology, goddess Laxmi, who cooks food for Him, leaves for her parent’s place. So in her absence, mother Yashoda prepares food for her offsprings. Several special rituals are followed during this period.

For smooth conduct of the rituals, the temple administration, neeti sub committee, Chhatisa Niyog and management committee work in tandem.

As per temple administration sources, the parimanik darshan of the deities will be suspended on 31^st December and 1^st January.

In view of Christmas and New Year celebrations, the tourist inflow to the holy city shows an upward trend every year. This year also, footfall is expected to maintain the momentum.

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Jagannath Temple Temporary staff on dharna Demanding wage hike, Regularisation

Temporary employees of the Shree Jagannath Temple in Odisha’s pilgrim town of Puri are on an indefinite dharna in front of the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) office beginning today demanding fulfillment of their two-point charter of demands.

The 243 temporary employees of the temple are demanding regularization of their jobs and a hike in their wages. They have however, made it clear that their agitation will in no way affect the daily rituals of the Lords.

Apart from the Class III and Class IV employees of the temple, employees engaged as watch and ward staff have also joined the agitation.

Those on dharna were seen with placards in their hands and were shouting slogans in support of their demands.

“We are demanding a minimum salary of Rs 15,000 for Class III employees and Rs 13,000 for Class IV employees. We will continue with our dharna indefinitely till the government agrees to fulfill our demands. But we wish to make it clear that the rituals of the Lords will not be affected by our dharna. We want a commitment from the government in writing,” said Durga Madhab Mishra, president of Shree Mandir Employees Association.

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Russian sorry for taking Puri temple snaps

BHUBANESWAR: A tourist from Russia had a harrowing time while taking photographs of Jagannath Temple in Puri by climbing atop a watchtower on Friday. The 28-year-old Russian, Sergei Ivanov, who identified himself as a civil engineer from Moscow apologized to police and was let off.

While the 12th century shrine is off limits to non-Hindus, there is restriction on visitors to climb the watchtower, meant for police. At present, it is being repaired. "There was no policeman at the watchtower, whose gate was open. There was signboard about restriction. I had no idea about the rule," said Ivanov.

A shrine servitor spotted him taking photographs in the morning and informed the temple police. He was immediately taken to the temple office where police verified his credentials. "We checked his passport and visa, which are valid. The photographs were deleted from his camera. Since there is no law to punish anyone if anybody clicks photographs by climbing the watchtower, we allowed him to go," said SP (Puri) Ashish Kumar Singh. 

Considering the "no entry" diktat for non-Hindus to Jagannath Temple, the shrine administration in 2006 announced to erect an elevated platform outside the temple to facilitate foreigners to take photographs. But the announcement fell by the wayside.

Till recently, non-Hindus used to climb the Emar mutt for a view of the Jagannath Temple. Now portions of the mutt were pulled down as it turned unsafe. In the past, a host of non-Hindu dignitaries like former Thai Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn and envoys of Thailand, Japan, Norway, Italy and New Zealand viewed the inner complex of the shrine from the terrace of a library, located in the mutt.

Recently, the tourism department toyed with the idea of constructing a replica of the Jagannath Temple to help non-Hindus have a feel of the shrine.

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Cracks Found in Jagannath Temple, ASI Asked to Repair

PURI: Two big cracks have been found in the ‘jagamohan’ of the 12th Century Jagannath temple. The cracks were noticed on the north east wall and roof of the structure during the ongoing de-plastering work.

A technical committee appointed by the State Government to look into repair and renovation work being carried out by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) reviewed the ongoing works on Thursday.
The team, led by Dharmu Prasad Mishra, has asked the ASI to repair the cracks within a week.
Speaking to mediapersons, Mishra expressed concern over the slow pace of repair and restoration work by the ASI at the temple. Works like de-plastering of ‘jagamohan’, chemical treatment of the main temple and replacement of damaged stones from the ground floor of the shrine are still incomplete, he pointed out.

Earlier this year, the Centre had asked ASI to complete the conservation and restoration works at the Jagannath temple by December, much ahead of the Nabakalebara festival in June next year.

“Although ASI had assured to complete the work and remove scaffoldings from the temple by the month end, chances of it seem remote,” said Mishra.

Superintendent of the ASI, Bhubaneswar circle, Bhuban Bikram, was present during the review along with senior officers of the temple administration.

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Non-Hindu pays fine for entering temple

Odisha Channel Bureau
Kendrapara, Dec 15: A non-Hindu was allegedly forced to cough up Rs 10,000 penalty for ‘trespassing’ into 300-year-old Baldevjew temple here.

Daily rituals of the deity were affected yesterday after a section of servitors identified a man from a minority community who had made his way into the temple.

Non-Hindus are barred from gaining entry into the Baldevjew temple as it is the case in Puri Jagannath temple.

The ‘bhog’ (offering) had to be dumped as the temple was desecrated following the entry of the non-Hindu. A ritual to purify the temple was later held.

The ‘intruder’ was detained and was later let off after he paid Rs 10,000, said sources.

As a non-Hindu had entered into the temple, daily ritual was affected. A puja had to be held later to consecrate the temple.

As per the tradition, only Hindus irrespective of caste barrier can make their way to the temple for darshan.

In past, there are instances of non-Hindus desecrating the temple by act of trespassing.

Purification ceremony had been held then to restore sanctity and sacredness of the temple, said servitors.

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Nabakalebara Panel Reviews Infra Works

PURI: Head of the Nabakalebara Infrastructure Supervision Committee (NISC), Maheswar Mohanty, on Saturday reviewed the progress made into various infrastructure works being implemented for the Nabakalebara of the Trinity.

The Nava-kalevera ceremony at Lord Jagannath temple

In a meeting with the officials of Roads and Building, PHD, Electricity and NHAI, Mohanty expressed concern at the poor execution of sewerage works in Puri. Not even 50 per cent of sewerage works in the Pilgrim Town have been completed so far.

Officials informed that double tracking of the 18-km railway track between Sakhigopal and Puri has been put on fast track and is expected to be completed by May next year.

This apart, ongoing work on erection of the railway over-bridge at Samjajapur near Chandanpur along the Puri-Bhubaneswar National Highway would be completed by March, railway officials informed the committee. Similarly, four-laning of Puri-Bhubaneswar highway by National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) would be completed before March.

The committee also discussed the ongoing works in health sector. Health officials presented reports on several healthcare projects being executed to augment the system before the fete. It includes an additional 500 beds with trauma care facilities in various hospitals of Puri and upgradation of six primary health centres (PHCs) along the Puri-Bhubaneswar route.

Chief Administrator of Jagannath temple, Bikash Mahapatra was present.

Nabakalebara is an important festival of the 12th century shrine as the idols of Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra are to be replaced with a new set of idols.

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President pays obeisance at Puri's Jagannath temple

President Pranab Mukherjee today visited the famous Jagannath temple here and performed 'puja' at the 12th century shrine.

The President was here as part of the last leg of his three-day visit to West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Odisha.

Special arrangements were made for his visit at the famous temple which gets a large number of devotees daily, officials said.

Authorities restricted general public from visiting the temple for some time to facilitate smooth 'darshan' by the President.

Mukherjee spent about half-an-hour in the temple, which consists of Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra deities.

The President was accompanied by his son and Lok Sabha MP from Jangipur (West Bengal), Abhijit, Minister for Finance and Public Enterprises, Odisha, Pradip Kumar Amat and officials of Rashtrapati Bhavan and the state government.

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Odisha to make Documentary on Nabakalebara

BHUBANESWAR: The tourism department has decided to make a documentary on Nabakalebara (creation of new idols of deities), scheduled to be observed at the Jagannath Temple in Puri in July 2015. The department will engage a reputed filmmaker for it. "Selection of filmmaker or production house will be made in a transparent manner. We are all set to float an expression of interest for it," said tourism secretary Arvind Padhee on Wednesday.

"The film will cover the sequences and rituals of Nabakalebara. The production house will select artists," said Padhee.

The movie's duration is likely to be limited to one hour and it will be produced in both Odia and English. "It will be a promotional film on Nabakalebara, which was last observed in 1996. Since there was no pictorial or videographic feed of the last festival, we decided to shoot the next year's festival," said Padhee. "We can use the film to promote Odisha tourism," said Padhee, the former chief administrator of the 12th century shrine.

The temple administration recently formed a committee to chalk out a communication strategy for the festival.

There is also a plan to engage a brand ambassador. For the smooth stay of tourists, the state government has decided to augment accommodation facilities in Puri.

"Temporary accommodations will be constructed for around one lakh pilgrims. Owners of lodgings, dharmasalas and hotels have been asked to complete repair and sanitation works well before Nabakalebara," said a senior officer. At present, around 19,886 beds are available in 350-odd hotels. It will be increased to 30,000. Around 32 new hotels will come up by Nabakalebara, which will provide around 4,000 beds.

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