Kolkata, April 16 -- Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday announced that the Jagannath Temple in Digha is set to become a prominent destination, especially for religious tourism, drawing visitors from across the world.
She chaired a meeting at Nabanna Sabhagar to review administrative preparations related to the temple and issued directives to ensure a smooth inauguration ceremony, scheduled for April 30, coinciding with Akshay Tritiya.
"We're not aiming for the kind of hype seen at events like the Kumbh Mela. Our focus is on ensuring a seamless and peaceful inauguration, and we're taking all necessary precautions," Banerjee said.
She maintained that three air conditioned hangars with capacity of 6,500, 4,000 and 2,000 respectively are being constructed for seating arrangements. There will be LED screens, 4 cloakrooms for keeping shoes and mobile phones and adequate CCTV surveillance for security.
The hawan, (Homa in Bengali parlance) will be conducted on April 29 under the guidance of Rajesh Dwaitapati from the Jagannath Temple in Puri. The 'pran pratishtha' (consecration ceremony) is scheduled for April 30 and will be broadcast live on large LED screens across all blocks.
A cultural programme featuring artistes like Jeet Ganguly, Sriradha Gangopadhyay, Aditi Munshi, and danseuse Dona Ganguly will be part of the inauguration. Following the event, official management of the temple will be handed over to ISKCON authorities.
"We must learn from the Kumbh Mela tragedy, where many lives were lost due to a stampede. Every possible measure must be taken to prevent any mishap," Banerjee said.
"While the temple premises are spacious, Digha's holding area is limited. So, it's crucial that all stakeholders-fire services, civil defence, police, administration, Railways, along with CCTV monitoring and watch towers-are fully prepared to ensure safety and security," she remarked.
She passed instructions for temporary construction of tents in and around Digha depending on availability of space for the common people who want to witness the event.
There should be adequate arrangements of food and drinking water there and tents should be strong enough to withstand natural calamities like storms, if any, it was instructed.
The Chief Minister directed her Cabinet ministers Aroop Biswas, Snehasis Chakraborty, Chandrima Bhattacharjee, Sujit Bose, Pulak Roy and Indranil Sen to camp at Digha from April 27 and oversee the last minute preparations and maintain liaison.
There will be ambulances for any medical emergency and adequate fire fighting arrangements in place.
Banerjee instructed Digha Sankarpur Development Authority (DSDA) for permanent CCTV installation in consultation with police.
Banerjee announced that she will personally donate Rs 5 lakh from her own account for the golden broom in the temple.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.