Kolkata: A trustee board for Jagannath Temple in Digha was formed by the state government on Tuesday to ensure better management and administration of the temple.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee after a Cabinet meeting announced the formation of the trustee board.
She also announced that the first meeting of the trustee board will be held on Thursday. “The state Cabinet on Tuesday gave its clearance to the 27-member trustee board where there are 11 government officers with the Chief Secretary at the top,” Banerjee stated.
“There will be one representative each from ISKCON, Jagannath Temple Puri, Mashir Bari Digha, Sanatan Sangha, Kalighat Temple, Maa Sarada Math, Ramakrishna Mission, CA firm and mass media communication,” Banerjee stated.
The Chief Minister had earlier announced that the Jagannath Temple in Digha will be inaugurated on April 30, 2025 (Akshaya Tritiya). On Tuesday, she said that a Yagna will be performed on April 29.
The Bengal government has spent around Rs 250 crore for the project. The temple is being built on a 20-acre plot and is in close proximity to the seashore. The Chief Minister had earlier said that the flag hoisting ritual (popularly known as dhaja tola in Bengali parlance) which is a daily customary ritual in Puri will also be followed at Digha’s Jagannath Temple too. Experts from the Puri temple will be roped in for the ritual in Digha. According to her, there will be a health centre, police outpost and fire fighting infrastructure too inside the temple premises.
It was in 2019 when Banerjee had announced the setting up of Jagannath temple in Digha as a replica of the famous one at Puri. However, after Covid situation came under control in May 2022, West Bengal Housing and Infrastructure Development Corporation (WBHIDCO) started construction of the temple.