BHUBANESWAR: History has it that the Jagannath Temple at Puri faced invasions several times as plunderers had set their sight on the religious shrine’s “Ratna Bhandar.” Similarly, there were many attempts by non-Hindu invaders to desecrate the temple.
The Madala Panji, which chronicled the temple, describes how the deities had to be moved out of the shrine more than a dozen times to keep the invaders at bay.
In two such events, the Lord and his divine siblings were sheltered in habitations in and around Chilika lagoon. The two locations which were identified under the Integrated Coastal Zone Management Project (ICZMP) are now being developed as tourist attractions.
In Nairi village, located in Chilika block under Khurda district, work has already begun. A small island, known as Kankada Sikhari, is where the Holy Trinity was originally sheltered. One can take a boat to the island which is 10 minutes away.
The throne of the deities is currently in Harahari Dev Temple in Sana Nairi village. The walls of the temple also have been engraved with the chronicles of Madala Panji. “Following the chronicle, we learnt that Rath Yatra was held in Nairi so that the annual sojourn of the deities continues unhindered. A bullock cart apparently acted as the chariot,” Chief Executive of the CDA Sushanta Nanda said.
Basing on the available facts, development work in Nairi commenced with the support of local community. INTACH is carrying out chemical preservation of Harahari Dev Temple while Culture Department is taking up the peripheral development, informed Nanda who also is Project Director of ICZMP, Odisha.
The Harahari Dev temple, a State-protected monument, is unique in the sense that one temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu while the other has been dedicated to Lord Shiva. As part of the work, parking for the tourists and toilets will be constructed while renovation of the pond called “Yamuna Sagar” is also on the anvil.
Nanda said the CDA will also construct a second jetty at the village for the convenience of the locals as well as tourists. Recreation facilities will also be taken up.
Similarly, the second location is Gurubai Temple which will be taken up for development in the second phase. The temple is located on the shoreline of Chilika in Krushna Prasad tehsil.
Once these sites are developed fully, the authorities are confident that these two locations would draw tourists in a big way.