Withdraw heritage bylaws for Jagannath Temple: SJTA

Bhubaneswar: The Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) on Sunday requested the National Monuments Authority (NMA) to immediately withdraw the draft notification on heritage bylaws for Jagannath Temple in Puri.

In a letter to the NMA Member Secretary, SJTA chief administrator Krishan Kumar requested to withdraw the draft notification to protect the interest of the deities, servitors and the devotees at large.

“If National Monuments Authority (NMA) is still of the considered view that any further regulatory framework of any nature is required to protect and further the cause of ‘Mula Peetha’ of Shree Jagannatha at Puri, then you are invited for a detailed consultation and discussion with members of Shree Jagannath Temple Management Committee (SJTMC) before any such fresh attempt is made,” the SJTA chief said.

Notably, the NMA has come up with heritage bylaws for the Jagannath Temple proposing the 100 metre area around the shrine be declared as ‘prohibited area’ where no constructions can be undertaken.