PURI: Apart from 400 houses in apartments for homeless Sri Jagannath temple servitors under first phase of ABADHA scheme, the temple administration has identified land to build houses for 250 more servitors under the scheme in the second phase.
Speaking to mediapersons on Friday, temple administrator for development AK Jena said, the decision to start the second phase of housing was taken after a survey by Gopabandhu Choudhury Institute for Socio Economic Studies, that revealing there are about 2,236 servitor families with a total population of 9,558 servitors. Two to three families live in a small house with basic provisions as most are poor, the survey report stated.
Earlier, the temple managing body had passed a budget to provide houses to homeless servitors which was approved by the State government at Harchandi Sahi. The compound wall construction has begun, informed Jena.
For the second phase, another patch of land of Emar Mutt at Matimandap Sahi has been acquired for a housing complex for 250 more servitor families with financial assistance from State Housing Board and Urban Development department besides Prime Minister Awas Yojna, added Jena.