PURI: A day after the visit of Delhi unit of Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) delegation to take stock of the Sikh heritage structures in Puri, another three-member team from Amritsar SGPC on Tuesday arrived in the pilgrim town and met Mahant of Mangu Mutt Bhabani Shankar Das.
Addressing media persons after the meeting, a team member Harjap Singh praised the State Government for developing Sri Jagannath temple as a heritage place in line with the one at Amritsar. This would facilitate devotees to come in large numbers to Puri.
Harjap said Amritsar SGPC decided to send a team to Puri after coming across a video showing demolition of Mangu and Punjabi Mutts, considered as Sikh heritage, and sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib.
“We found that though the mutts were demolished by the administration, the temple and heritage structures inside them were intact. Moreover, efforts are underway to beautify them. This is a positive step by the State Government,” said the joint secretary of Amritsar SGPC Sakarttar Singh.
The team would meet Puri Collector Balwant Singh and request him to preserve the heritage of the two mutts, he said. Another team member Gurmit Singh said they offered prayers at the marble statue of Sri Chandra, son of Guru Nanak Dev in Mangu Mutt.
Satpal Singh, the member of Bhubaneswar Gurdwara who accompanied the team, said Sikhs feel proud to be a part of the ongoing reform measures in Sri Jagannath temple. Since the last two years, Bhubaneswar Gurdwara has been running two free shoe and mobile stands in front of the temple for devotees. “Though Sikhs do not worship idols, we pay our highest respect to Lord Jagannath,” he said.
Interestingly, the visiting delegates refused to acknowledge the existence of Arati Sahib Gurdwara at Puri and said it has no religious sanction of Amritsar SGPC which is considered as the apex body of Sikhs. The Gurdwara at Puri does not come under SGPC and has no religious authority, they said.
On Monday, a five-member team of Delhi SGPC had met the Mangu Mutt and submitted a memorandum to the Collector requesting him to preserve the Sikh heritage.
On the other hand, demarcation and marking of the boundary within 75 metre radius from Meghanad Prachir of Sri Jagannath temple began from Monday. The work is being carried out under the supervision of Sub-Collector Bhabataran Sahu with the assistance of five probationary IAS officers who were recently deployed by the Government to expedite the development process.
Meanwhile, the Supreme court granted two-week time to Amicus Curiae Ranjit Kumar to submit his report on the eviction drive carried out by the State Government around the Sri Jagannath temple. The next date of hearing has been fixed on October 3.