Withdraw draft notification on heritage bye-laws, demands Jagannath temple administration

Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) on Sunday demanded withdrawal of the draft notification on heritage bye-laws for Shree Jagannath Temple, Puri, which were published by National Monuments Authority and which prohibit development work in a specified area around it.

SJTA chief administrator, Krishan Kumar, has written to the National Monuments Authority (NMA) member secretary in this regard.

According to these heritage bye-laws, any development within 100 metres can't be done as it will be a "prohibited area" and around 200 metres around notified monuments such as Sri Mandir. They will need permission from the NMA for development work.

Biju Janta Dal parliamentary party leader and Member of Parliament from Puri, Pinaki Misra, termed the proposed heritage bylaws by National Monuments Authority for Shri Jagannath Temple as "Outrageous" and "Blasphemous".

Misra tweeted, "Outrageous attempt by the central government to derail the extraordinary work being done due to the chief minister's untiring efforts to improve the surroundings of ShriMandir and Lingaraj Mandir. Clubbing our living Gods' abode with mausoleums is blasphemous. Odia sentiments deeply hurt."

( With inputs from ANI )