BHUBANESWAR: IN a fresh turn to the development of heritage corridor around the Jagannath temple at Puri, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan on Friday appealed to Puri Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingha Deb to launch and lead a mass fund collection drive in the line of Nidhi Samarpan Abhiyan for Ram temple in Ayodhya.
In a letter to the Gajapati, the chairman of Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA), the Minister said that if such a drive is launched, crores of devotees of Lord Jagannath and Odias all over the world can contribute for the development of the heritage corridor.
The managing committee of the SJTA approved the Shree Jagannatha Heritage Corridor (SJHC) project which proposes to redevelop the surroundings of the 12th century shrine on February 15. Stating that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is devoted to Lord Jagannath, he urged the Gajapati Maharaja to act as a coordinator between the Centre and the State in this regard for which Pradhan has offered his support.
The Minister assured of the Centre’s help in waiving off income tax on the funds from the devotees in the country as well as abroad. Besides, several banks will come forward to extend their help in this regard, he said.
The Minister sought his cooperation to convert the fund collection drive for the great work as a voluntary people’s movement across the world. “With this, devotees of Lord Jagannath who are living in different corners of the world can get a chance in their lifetime to serve God,” he said.The Minister had recently donated `1 lakh from his salary for the development of the Shree Jagannath Temple.