BHUBANESWAR : Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingha Deb on Saturday welcomed the suggestions of Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan for Ram Mandir like donation drive for the development of heritage corridor around the Jagannath temple at Puri.
On the behalf of Shree Jagannath Temple Managing Committee, Deb also assured the Union Minister to take every possible step for the all-round development of Srimandir and Shreekshetra in the interest of countless devotees around the world and for reviving the pristine glory of the ancient cultural heritage.
Pradhan had appealed the Puri King to launch and lead a mass fund collection drive in the lines of Nidhi Samarpan Abhiyan for Ram temple in Ayodhya. Responding to the letter, the Gajapati Maharaja wrote that Mahaprabhu Jagannath is the divine source of inspiration guiding and comprehensively influencing the lives of devotees across the globe.
“History reveals that the State with all its resources was dedicated at the feet of the Lord and the affairs of the Lord was the top-most priority in the affairs of the State. By the God’s grace, the State government has initiated Shreemandir Parikrama and several other developmental projects with an objective to transform Jagannath dham into one of the foremost religious, spiritual and cultural centres of the world,” he stated.
The initiative, Deb said, needs whole-hearted support of both the State and Central governments as well as devotees around the world. “I have no doubt that it will be possible since our history has shown, there can be no greater unifying and rallying force than the call to serve the Lord,” he added.The Minister had assured of the Centre’s help in waiving off income tax on the funds to be collected from the devotees in the country as well as abroad.