Judicial panel for Puri temple reform submits interim report

The Justice B P Das Commission of Enquiry, set up to suggest measures for reforms in management of the Shree Jagannath Temple at Puri, submitted its first interim report to the state government today.
Secretary of the Commission B P Parija submitted the report of over 1,000 pages to state Law minister Arun Sahu at Bhubaneswar.
The Commission was set up in July last year after the 'Niladree Bije' fiasco, in which servitors misbehaved with the Puri district Collector and some local journalists.
Although the details of the report are not known, sources said the Commission has suggested certain measures for both the district administration and the police for proper temple management as well as smooth functioning of rituals.

The Commission is learnt to have suggested measures for safety and security of the devotees visiting the 12th century shrine and has also suggested stringent action against those servitors, who indulge in indiscipline.
The Commission had received more than 20,000 affidavits, a majority of them as suggestions for reforms.
The Shankaracharya of Gobardhan Peeth, Gajapati Maharaja of Puri, the district administration and members of several cultural and social organisations had submitted affidavits.