Odisha panel to study major temples' mgt scheme after SC order

Following an order of the Supreme Court, the Odisha government today constituted a three-member committee to study the management systems of six major temples across the country.

The Supreme Court on June 8 had passed a slew of directions to prevent exploitation of devotees by staff at the Jagannath temple of Puri and directed the state government to study the management schemes of other important shrines.

A government notification said the Committee will visit and study the management schemes of Vaishno Devi temple of Jammu and Kashmir, Somnath temple of Gujarat, Golden Temple of Amritsar, Tirupati Temple in Andhra Pradesh and Dharmasthala temple of Karnataka and suggest measures for the Puri Jagannath temple.

Headed by the temple's former chief administrator S C Mohapatra, IAS, the panel has ex-Puri SP and now central range IGP Soumendra Priyadarshi, IPS, and Shree Jagannath Temple Managing Committee member Mohimohan Tripathy as the two other members.

The Supreme Court had passed the order while adjudicating over a civil writ petition alleging mismanagement and harassment to devotees at the Puri Jagannath temple.