BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) on Monday demanded that the state government should issue a white paper on the Shri Jagannath Temple Heritage Corridor project with all information on its objective and cost as it is trying to rush through with its inauguration on January 17.
Addressing a media conference here, OPCC president Sarat Pattanayak and former president Prasad Harichandan said that the white paper should also have all information as to what extent the project has been implemented. They said it should have project details and whether any changes were made midway through its implementation.
The Congress leaders also expressed concern over the mismanagement in temple administration as was evident when 30 pilgrims were injured inside the temple during Mangala Alati on Friday. They said the party has been demanding the opening of all four gates of the temple to avoid such incidents.
“We demand the opening of all the gates in order to avoid major accidents, like a stampede, as more devotees will visit the temple during the ‘Panchuka’, the last five days of the holy month of Kartika,” they stated. The Congress leaders announced that the ‘Tulasi Yatra’ will be the next agitation launched by the party from December 1. The program aims to register the party’s protest against the mismanagement of the 12th-century shrine.