Bhubaneswar (SunstarTV Bureau): While the draft notification on the heritage bylaws has been withdrawn from Sri Jagannath Temple, Puri, the notification for the Lingaraj and Anant Basudev temples has remained in force, confirmed by the Union Culture Minister Prahlad Singh Patel on Tuesday in New Delhi.
According to Patel’s given statement, “There is no universal bylaw for all the temples across the country. Puri temple is a living monument which will remain safe for ever. The notification on heritage bylaws for the Jagannath Temple has been withdrawn. But, the notification for Lingaraj Temple and Anant Basudev temple in Bhubaneswar is still in force. There is no decision taken on it so far.”
The State government has carried out excavation work in the vicinity of the Lingaraj Temple. “We have sent our team of experts. Let the team submit the report first. Then we will take a call on Lingaraj temple,” the minister further added.
Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan along with a section of servitors from Puri temple, local MLA Jayant Sarangi, BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra today met the Culture Minister at his residence in Delhi and extended gratitude for his immediate action on the notification.
Meanwhile, the State BJP has hit back at the State government for allegedly misleading the officials of National Monument Authority (NMA) during their visit to Puri.
“The officials of the Odisha government had misled the NMA team during its visit to the shrine. The State officials should have apprised the team that this is a living monument. But, they had not done that,” State BJP Spokesperson Golak Mohapatra said.
