PURI/BHUBANESWAR : The Jagannath Temple administration has decided to seek legal protection of words central to the 12th century shrine to prevent their misuse by any other temple across the country and abroad.
At a high-level meeting of the temple administration, presided by Puri king Gajapati Dibyasingha Deb on Monday, it was decided to seek legal and intellectual protection of words like Shree Jagannath Dham, Srimandir, Purushottam Kshetra, Purushottam Dham, Mahaprasad, Srikshetra, Neelachakra and the logo of the shrine.
The decision of Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) to seek legal protection comes in wake of the controversy surrounding the naming of Jagannath temple at West Bengal’s Digha as Jagannath Dham. Chief administrator of the shrine Arabinda Padhee said certain words which are linked to the Srimandir and its various rituals should not be used by any other temple for any purpose.
“Hence, we have decided to legally protect these words. Trademarking or copywriting them will be an important move in this direction,” said Padhee. The meeting also took a decision to regulate the height of new buildings coming up around the Srimandir and Gundicha temple to maintain the visual prominence of the two ancient shrines.
Not just the height, design of buildings coming up around Srimandir Parikrama and Gundicha temple will also be regulated. The National Monuments Authority (NMA) regulates the height of buildings around prohibited and regulated zones of centrally-protected temples and monuments under the Archaeological Sites and Remains Act to preserve the heritage and visual landscape of the sites.
However, an increasing number of tall buildings, both commercial and private, are coming up around the two shrines. “Beyond the Srimandir Parikrama and Gundicha temple, several buildings are coming up in many designs. We will discuss with the local civic bodies and state government to draw up guidelines on construction and height of new buildings near the shrines,” he said.
The meeting also deliberated on smooth conduct of Rath Yatra. The temple chief administrator informed that a ‘pahandi’ team for each chariot will be formed by the SJTA. “The number of servitors required for each pahandi will be ascertained after discussions with sevayat nijogs,” he added. Strict action will be taken against non-sevayats found on the three chariots. The meeting also decided to initiate criminal cases against servitors carrying mobile phones on the three chariots, besides seizure of the devices.