BHUBANESWAR: Even as communal violence in Delhi continued to grab headlines, Odisha Government on Thursday sanctioned Rs 23 crore for improvement of pilgrim amenities in various religious institutions cutting across the boundaries of faith. The institutions which will receive the grant included six mosques, five churches and two gurudwaras.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s office said Rs one crore each will be provided to the religious institutions out of the Special Problem Fund (SPF). The mosques set to receive the grant include Jahania Pir, Puri; Hazir Abdul Sakur Baba Tarbha Sarif, Sonepur; Dargah-E-Huzoor Mujahid-e-Millat, Dhamnagar; Bhujakhia Pir (Hajrat Swale Mohammad), Balasore; Jama Masjid, Bhubaneswar and Hazarat Bukhari Pir Baba, Kaipadar in Khurda district.
The churches identified for the support are CNI Church (Diocess of Sambalpur), Balangir; Baptist Church, Khurda; Mount House Church, Chandni Chowk, Cuttack; Saint Paul Protestant Church, Malipada in Kalahandi and Union Church in Bhubaneswar. Two Gurudwaras selected to receive the grant are Guru Singh Saheb Gurudwara in Rourkela and Bhouli Math at Puri.
Grant for religious institutions
Ten temples including Sri Sri Nrusinghhnath Temple, Paikmal, Maa Bhadrakali Temple at Bhadrak, Harishankar Temple in Bolangir, Jagannath Temple in Boudh, Shree Chandrasekhar Jew Bije in Kapilash, Maa Sarala Temple, Jhankada, Maa Biraja Temple at Jajpur, Lord Baldev Jew Temple at Keonjhar, Sri Gupteswar Temple in Koraput and Nilakantheswar Temple at Papadhandi district will receive similar grant.