Bhubaneswar: Following heated debates over ongoing construction work for Puri Jagannath Temple Parikrama project in the Lok Sabha on Thursday, a Odisha Legislative Assembly has set up a House Committee.
According to reports, Speaker Surjya Narayan Patro will preside over this committee which comprises eight members. An official announcement about the formation of the House Committee was made in the Assembly today.
Members of the committee are Narasingha Mishra, Debi Prasad Mishra, Jayant Sarangi, Lalitendu Bidyadhara Mohapatra, Pratap Jena, Bikram Keshari Arukh and Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak.
The Assembly witnessed a ruckus on Tuesday as opposition MLAs raised questions over the impact of construction work, undertaken by the State government to develop a heritage corridor, near the Jagannath temple.
Deep pits are being dug close to the temple, which may create cracks on the walls of the temple that may threaten the structure, Puri MLA Jayant Sarangi said. Bhubaneswar MP Aparajit Sarangi raised the issue in Lok Sabha on Thursday.
Sarangi sought the Union Culture Ministry’s intervention to halt the digging works around the Sri Jagannath temple being done as part of the heritage corridor project. She called the construction work illegal.
Challenging Sarangi’s apprehensions, Puri MP Pinaki Misra said work is being done with the no-objection certificate from the National Monument Authority keeping the Archeological Survey of India in the loop. “Only four toilets are being made. “There is no question of harming Puri Jagannath temple,” said Misra.
