BHUBANESWAR: A day after Odisha Cabinet approved a special law for the management and administration of Lingaraj temple, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan requested Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to enact similar legislations for four more shrines in the State. Writing a letter to the Chief Minister on Tuesday, Pradhan requested to bring four iconic shrines, Biraja temple in Jajpur, Samaleswari temple in Sambalpur, Maa Tara Tarini temple in Ganjam and Nilamadhav temple at Kantilo in Nayagarh district, under legislative guidelines for better administration.
“These temples situated in different corners of Odisha form an intangible resource of spiritual and devotional tourism, bringing not only millions of footfalls and associated revenue but also defining and manifesting in the essential day-to-day life of its citizens,” Pradhan said. Bringing these four temples under legislative guidelines and vesting the power in a committee for management of the temple affairs will not only bring a high standard of accountability to the management of the temples with necessary provision for budgeting, planning and audits but also safeguard the long-term interest of the temples and pave the way of offering better facilities to visitors and devotees, he said.