Pradipta Mohapatra assumes charge as SJTA chief administrator

Senior bureaucrat Pradipta Kumar Mohapatra today assumed charge as the chief administrator of Odisha's Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) here.

The 1988-batch IAS officer replaced Water Resources Department Secretary P K Jena.

The Odisha government had on Monday night appointed Mohapatra as the chief administrator of SJTA. This is the second time he will take the responsibility of the temple.

Mohapatra, who is posted as Principal Secretary, School and Mass Education, has been given the additional charge of SJTA chief administrator, according to a notification issued by the General Administration Department.

He was SJTA chief administrator from April 27, 2010 to May 13, 2012, while working as the Revenue Divisional Commissioner (RDC), central division.

"My priority is to ensure a smooth Rath Jatra of the deities next month. Other works will be done at the same time," Mohapatra said after assuming charge.