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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A garden for Lord Jagannath Plant centre to develop 200 species for Puri temple

A Regional Plant Resource Centre employee attends to a plant at the proposed site for the garden and (below) children play at the entrance to the resource centre. Pictures by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, Nov. 24: The Regional Plant Resource Centre here is set to develop a garden of 200 plant species that play a role in the day-to-day rituals of Puri Jagannath temple deities. Puri king Gajapati Dibyasingh Deb has agreed to inaugurate the garden.

The garden, to be located inside the botanical garden of the centre, will be situated between the children’s park and the fragrant flower garden. The plant species for this garden have already been identified. Sources said 120 species have been collected so far.

“We will have all the plants needed for the different rituals of the three deities. As there is no scope to see all the plants at one place, the garden will help the visitors to take a look at all plants associated with the Lord and His siblings,” said Pratap Chandra Panda, principal scientist (taxonomy and conservation), Regional Plant Resource Centre.

Established in 1985, the centre has a collection of 321 species of trees, 237 medicinal plants, 59 palms, 27 bamboos, 101 native and exotic orchids and 32 endangered plant varieties.

It has also got an impressive collection of cacti.

The Puri Jagannath temple will celebrate Nabakalebar in July next year when the old idols will be replaced with new ones. The ritual takes place after every 12 to 18 years. The new idols are made with specialised neem timber known as “Daru brahma”. The last Nabakalebar was held in 1996. The festival next year is expected to draw around 30 lakh devotees.

Panda said: “The cult of Jagannath is unique and its association with nature is also a well-known fact. While the timber used to create the idols comes from neem trees (Azadirachta indica), the wood of phasi (Anogeissus acuminata) is mainly used to construct the chariots. There are also plants whose flowers are specifically used for different rituals of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra.”

Panda said since July 2000, the forest department had been running the Jagannath Vana Prakalpa to produce timber needed for car festivals. Under the programme, the state government has already included the plantation of asan, arjuna, dharua, gambhari, kadamba, simli, mahalimba and kansa species for meeting the timber requirements during the car festival.

Bhubaneswar-based plantation activist Nrupesh Nayak said: “The assembly of all 200 plant species associated with the Jagannath cult will definitely help the centre to attract more people to the botanical garden.”

“The garden will also inspire people to grow particular plants on their land so that they can also donate them to the Jagannath temple administration as timber availability has become a challenge during the car festival every year,” a senior conservation expert at the centre said.

Regarding the display of information on the plants, he said: “Near each plant, its Odia name, biological or taxonomic name, how it is used for the rituals of the Lord and where it is seen in Odisha will be displayed.”

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Odisha to deploy 10,000 police and security forces during Nabakalebar, Rath Yatra in Puri in 2015

Puri: Odisha Government will deploy 10,000 police and security forces for safe conduct of Nabakalebar ritual, Rath Yatra in Puri in 2015. This was informed by the SP Asish Kumar Singh.

SP Asish Kumar Singh in a Press conference here on Friday elaborated the security and other arrangements being worked out by the police administration during the two events. The administration is expecting 30 to 40 lakh pilgrims to throng Puri to witness it as well as the annual Car Festival of the deities in new bodies.

Apart from police personnel, 14 units of senior police personnel would be formed to conduct the VVIPs and control crowd and traffic, besides emergency services. There would be bomb detection and disposal units, dog squads and intelligence gathering units as well.

As per the arrangement, sea, air and land routes would be kept under tight security. The police would ensure safety of the entire city, pilgrims and temple while armed vessels of the Coast Guard would patrol along the Puri coast.

SP Asish Kumar Singh said that luggage scanners would be installed at the temple main gate where the hand bags of the pilgrims would be scanned and at the south gate through which food grains and rations enter into the temple kitchen.

Besides, 200 more life guards would be added to the existing 100 personnel along the Puri beach from Chakratirth to Swargdwar to prevent drowning in the sea. 14 watch towers would be erected along the beach for surveillance of the pilgrims taking holy dip in the sea.

The entire 10 km road from Maltipatpur bus stand to Puri would be illuminated and 150 CCTV cameras would be installed along the route to Puri. This apart, 32 CCTV cameras would be installed in the Jagannath temple. Two integrated CCTV control rooms would be made operational during the ritual.

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ASI to review renovation works at Jagannath Temple on Nov. 12

Puri: Archaeology Survey of India (ASI), would review the status of the ongoing repair and renovation works at the Shree Jagannath Temple at Puri on November 12.

A decision to this effect has been taken at a review meeting of the Central Archaeology department, Odisha Circle, in Bhubaneswar. Superintendent of Archaeology Bhuban Bikram said all repair and renovation works at the Shree Jagannath Temple would be completed by December 31.He said the members of the subcommittee of the department would review the repair work of the temple.

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Puri: Archaeology Survey of India (ASI), would review the status of the ongoing repair and renovation works at the Shree Jagannath Temple at Puri on November 12.

A decision to this effect has been taken at a review meeting of the Central Archaeology department, Odisha Circle, in Bhubaneswar. Superintendent of Archaeology Bhuban Bikram said all repair and renovation works at the Shree Jagannath Temple would be completed by December 31.He said the members of the subcommittee of the department would review the repair work of the temple.

- See more at: http://www.orissadiary.com/CurrentNews.asp?id=54778#sthash.tQj5R7Qc.mj4Vn9ij.dpuf

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Bikas Mohapatra new administrator of Sri Jagannath Temple Administration

Ahead of Lord Jagannath's Nabakalebara festival next year, Odisha government has appointed Bikash Chandra Mohapatra as the new administrator of Sri Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA), according to a notification issued by General Administration Department today.

Mohapatra, who is now posted as the Revenue Divisional Commissioner (RDC), southern division, replaced Aravind Padhee, who is also the secretary of tourism and culture department. Mohapatra is also the RDC, central range, Cuttack. The post of administrator of SJTA would be the additional charge of Mohapatra, the notification said.

Earlier, the state government had appointed Puri MLA and former minister Maheswar Mohanty as the chairman of a committee to monitor and supervise infrastracural development of Puri ahead of Nabakalebara festival.

The state government is expecting above 30 lakh devotees in Puri for the Nabakalebara festival which takes place in a gap of 12 to 18 years. In the festival, the wooden body of the trinity - Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra and Lord Jagannath are replaced by new idols.

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Odisha celebrates Kartik Purnima with traditional fervour

Bhubaneswar (Odisha) : Odisha remembered its maritime past  by celebrating Boita Bandana (worship of ships) with traditional fervour. People from different age groups woke up early morning and rushed to different water bodies to sail miniature boats in memory of the glorious past.

Well decorated miniature boats made of banana barks, cork and paper were sailed in water bodies.

As the legend says, sea traders used to sail to distant islands like Java, Sumatra, Borneo, Ceylon and other countries to trade. It is a festival to remember the past.

"This is a festival of remembrance of Odisha's glorious maritime past. People used to throng to water bodies, river banks and sea shores to sail miniature boats as a symbolic gesture," said Sarat Kar, a researcher on Oriya culture.

"It is also a festival to worship the ships so that they will sail smoothly to far away lands in the turbulent sea. It is to seek divine blessings so that the journey will remain safe," he added.

Early in the morning a large number of people gathered at water bodies across the state carrying miniature boats. The boats were worshiped and sent off in the gentle waves keeping earthen candles inside in memory of adventurous Oriyas, accompanied by chants.

"We have come here for Boita Bandana Utsav. It is a festival to remember the glorious past of Odisha. We worship the banana bark boats keeping paddy, betel nuts and other things which used to be traded to foreign countries from Odisha's soil in the past," said Subhashree Mishra who had come to Bindusagar pond near the Lingaraj temple in Bhubaneswar.

There was a large crowd in Dhabaleswar Temple of Cuttack and Bindusagar pond in the heart of Bhubaneswar for Boita Bandana. Similar crowds were also seen in Puri and Paradip beach.

 As a symbolic gesture, a well adorned boat and seven Sadhabs (marine traders) were given a send off by the chairman of Paradip Port Authority, in memory of the maritime past.

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Rs 15 crore to meet expenses for Nabakalebara

BHUBANESWAR: Sharp fall in collection of revenue has forced the state government to peg the size of first supplementary budget 2014-15 at almost half the size of that last year.

Official sources said the council of ministers, headed by chief minister Naveen Patnaik, on Thursday gave its nod to the draft budget of Rs 3,900 crore, including plan outlay worth Rs 1,300 crore.

The first supplementary budget in 2013-14 was Rs 7,144 crore.

Finance minister Pradip Amat would present the supplementary budget on November 20, the first day of the winter session of the assembly, official sources said.

The sources said the government has no plan to unveil any new scheme in the supplementary budget. Additional funds have been allocated to certain ongoing schemes and also for meeting salary and pension needs of employees.

He said the highest of Rs 270 crore is allocated for agriculture and allied sectors while Rs 15 crore has been earmarked to meet expenses for projects for Nabakalebara of Puri Jagannath Temple.

The state government has set a revenue target of Rs 25093.87 crore in the current fiscal year. By September, only 38% of the target was achieved, official sources said. "Although we have fallen short of achieving the target so far, we are hopeful of making up within the next five months," the finance minister said.

In the first half of the financial year, mining revenue dropped by 20 % due to closure of 26 iron ore and manganese mines following May 16 Supreme Court order, the sources said. Around Rs 2,044 crore mining revenue was collected between April and September as against Rs 2,600 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year.

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Gundicha temple to get facelift ahead of Nabakalebara in Odisha

The Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) has decided to undertake the beautification and conservation of the Gundicha temple in Odisha’s pilgrim town of Puri, where it expects an extremely high footfall of devotees during the annual Rath Yatra (Car Festival) next year.

The coming Shree Jagannath Rath Yatra would be a special event since it would see the Nabakalebara (New Form) of the three deities – Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra’s – which comes once every 12-18 years. New idols are made for the deities during Nabakalebara.

The deities stay at the Gundicha temple for seven days during their annual sojourn to the place. Together with Rath Yatra, when the deities start from the Shree Mandir on their journey to Gundicha temple, and the Bahuda Yatra, when the deities return to their abode, the festival lasts a total of nine days.

On SJTA’s invitation, the Technical Consultative Committee on Shree Jagannath Temple Conservation (TCCSJTC) visited the Gundicha Temple on Saturday to have a first-hand account of the current condition of the temple and prepare a  plan for its beautification and conservation based on its study.

The technical committee, led by its chairman Prof. Gopal Chandra Mitra, suggested immediate repair of the walls of the Garbhagriha – sanctum sanctorum of the temple. While advising close examination of the stones affixed to the walls of the Garbhagriha, the Committee asked for removal of the weaker stones to be replaced with new ones. It also advised giving a chemical coat to the walls after cleaning and pinning, sources said.

Chief administrator of SJTA and Tourism & Culture secretary Arabinda Padhee, who accompanied the committee during its visit to the Gundicha temple, informed that requisite repair and beautification of the temple will be completed well before the Nabakalebar festival next year.

Sources said the technical committee studied the condition of the Singhadwara, the road from the entrance of the temple to the inner side of the boundary wall, floor of the inner space, walls of the Bhogamandap and walls of the Garbhagriha during its visit.

The SJTA and the technical committee agreed to widen the road from the entrance of the temple to the inner side of the boundary wall, undertake repair of the walls of Bhogamandap and Garbhagriha and application of chemical coat, to plant grass on empty spaces within the temple premises, to make improvements for discharge of waste water from the temple premises, installation of bright lights within the temple premises and beautification of the temple using modern technology, sources said.

The Committee also decided that plates with information for the devotees will be affixed within the temple and the Lords’ Veshas and rituals will be exhibited through video while a garden will be set up within the temple premises, sources said.

The technical committee chairman Prof Mitra was accompanied by other members of the committee, rituals, development and security administrators of the Shree Jagannath Temple, ADM Puri, executive engineer of the Works department, sevayat representative of the temple management committee and Daitapati sevayat representative Ramachandra Dashmohaptra.

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3 projects to clean Puri before Nabakalebara

BHUBANESWAR: To clean Puri town before Nabakalebara in 2015, the state government has approved three environmental projects worth Rs 30.50 crore.

Official sources said Odisha Water Supply and Sewerage Board (OWSSB) will fund the three projects - renovation of waste water treatment plant at Bankimuhan, setting up of an effluent treatment plant at Jagannath Temple and solid waste management on the Grand Road.

The existing treatment plant at Bankimuhan is lying in a dilapidated state. As a result, untreated water is discharged into the sea. "We will spend Rs 6.30 crore on renovating the plant. A renovation plan was earlier chalked out in consultation with Odisha State Pollution Control Board (OSPCB) officers. We will start the work as soon as OWSSB releases funds for it," said a state government officer.

The effluent treatment plant inside Jagannath Temple would be set up at an estimated cost of Rs 3.57 crore. The proposed plant will treat the waste water generated from kitchen. The treated water would be used in the garden, the officer said.

Sources said about 50,000 kilo litre of waste water is discharged from the kitchen every day. It is rich in starch and carbohydrate, and leaves an obnoxious smell. "The government had earlier sought technical assistance from Jamshedpur Utility and Services Company Limited (JUSCO) to set up the treatment plant," said an officer.

The stretch between Bada Danda (Grand Road) and Mausimaa Temple will also be cleared of all solid waste. The government would spend Rs 20 crore for clearing and lifting garbage from the Grand Road.

Puri town generates about 100 tonne of solid waste a day of which 60% lie strewn across the town, according to an OSPCB study.

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Puri residents pay tribute to ancestors during special Diwali prayers

(Odisha), Oct.24 (ANI): On the occasion of Diwali, residents of Puri in Odisha offered tributes and homage to their ancestors.

On Thursday, all roads led to the famed Jagannath Temple, where a sea of humanity observed the ritual of Badabadua Daka holding bunches of burning jute-stems in hand. They invoked their ancestors and prayed for peace and harmony in their families. As per the tradition, the eldest son of each family performs this ritual.

"Like every year, on an auspicious time, last month the souls of fathers came to their descendants' place and again on this auspicious occasion of the souls leave their children's house and start their journey for the heaven. That's why every son shows light to their fathers when they set out for heaven saying that, 'you came in the dark, now, you go with light'. This makes the fathers satisfied," said a priest, Suryanarayan Rath Sharma.

The invocation process began with the chanting of a famous Oriya adage, 'Badabadua ho andhaare aasa, aalua re jaa' (Oh forefathers, come in darkness and go back in the light).

The oldest member of a family, accompanied by other family members, chanted those lines, lighted the bundle of jute-stems and pointed the flames skywards. A thick smoke covered the temple area following the mass gathering and burning of jute-stems by devotees.

The ritual, which started on Thursday afternoon, ended at midnight. A queue system was introduced throughout the day to ensure the smooth flow of devotees into the temple. Buildings and shops were seen lit with colourful lights on the eve of Diwali.

Meanwhile, in the town of Shirdi in Maharashtra, homage was offered to Sai Baba.

According to ancient mythology, Sai Baba lit lamps with water and illuminated the entire town and freed people from their sufferings. (ANI)

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Puri Shankaracharya Must Apologise to Dalits: Pramod Krishnam

GHAZIABAD: Akhil Bharatiya Sant Samiti president Acharya Pramod Krishnam today condemned Puri Shankaracharya Nischalananda Saraswati for his alleged remarks on entry of Dalits into temples.

"Shankaracharya Nischalanand must tender unconditional apologies to the Dalit samaj for his statement exhorting ban on the entry of Dalits into temples," said Acharya Krishnam, who contested the last Lok Sabha polls on a Congress ticket.

No religious epic gives the right to any seer to discriminate among the masses and restrict their rights of entry to any temple or religious place on the basis of caste or creed, he added.

Acharya Krishnam, who was here to attend a religious ceremony along with Madhya Pradesh Governor Ram Naresh Yadav, however, said "I am not in favour of registering an FIR against Shankaracharya Nischalananda".

The National Commission for Scheduled Castes has asked Jharkhand police to register an FIR against the Puri Shankaracharya for his reported remarks made on Friday in Ranchi that Dalits should not enter temples.

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Sea of Devotees at Puri on Panchak for Darshan of Lord Jaggnnath

Bhubaneswar: Sea of devotees throng to Puri on Monday for panchak darshan of Lord Jaggnnath siblings Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra on the final Monday of holy month ‘Kartik’.

Three pilgrims fell unconscious and were rushed to hospital in Puri town. In another similar incident in the pilgrim town, a woman from Ganjam district, who was on a visit to Puri, suddenly fell sick near Dakshin Kali temple and died on the way to hospital.

The injured devotees under treatment in the district headquarters hospital were Hemalata Mishra of Gunupur, Sabitri and Rekha Mishra of Banpur, Rabindra Kumar Sahoo of Barmunda, Ritarani Naik of Dumduma and Aruna Acharya of Brahmapur. This apart, another three devotees sustained injuries as the barricade at the entrance gate collapsed. They were being treated in the district headquarters hospital.

SP Asish Kumar Singh said elaborates steps were being taken to conduct the pilgrims in the temple. Several platoons of police personnel were deployed while a police help desk was operated at the Lion’s Gate.

See more at-http://goo.gl/miBDJR

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