Odisha’s BJP government has reopened all four gates of Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri on Thursday morning and set up a corpus fund for the 12th-century shrine’s immediate needs in its first Cabinet meeting.
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi announced the decision after a meeting with his ministers at the state secretariat, Lok Seva Bhawan.
“The state government decided to re-open all the four gates of the Puri Jagannath temple in early morning tomorrow in the presence of all ministers. Devotees will have access to the temple through all four gates,” Majhi said.
The CM noted that reopening the temple gates was a promise in the BJP’s election manifesto, addressing the issues devotees faced due to the gate closures.The previous, BJD administration had kept the four gates closed since the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing entry through only one gate. There had been demands from devotees for the reopening of all gates.
For the conservation and preservation of the Shree Jagannath Temple, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi said that the Cabinet has decided to establish a corpus fund of Rs 500 crore to address issues related to the shrine. In response to a question, Majhi said all ministers would leave for Puri on Wednesday night and stay in the pilgrim town to be present when all four gates of the temple are opened on Thursday morning.
Majhi also stated that the state government plans to raise the minimum support price (MSP) of paddy to Rs 3,100 per quintal. The concerned department has been instructed to take measures to implement this proposal. A committee will be formed soon to facilitate the increase in the MSP for paddy.
Additionally, a special policy, “Samruddha Krushak Niti Yojana,” will be developed to address farmers’ issues, including the MSP. Departments have been directed to prepare guidelines and a roadmap for this initiative, which will be presented to the government. This will be accomplished within the first 100 days of the administration.