bhubaneswar: Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Monday spoke to Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami for beautification of Uttarakashi Sri Jagannath Temple. He also discussed smooth conduct of rituals at the shrine located 4000 ft above sea level amidst picturesque villages.
This came two days after Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board and Uttarkashi District Administration decided to revive and maintain the centuries-old shrine Sald village after it was brought to limelight by Ollywood star couple Sabyasachi Mishra and Archita. They visited the temple on Bahuda Yatra last week and joined the villagers in resuming prayers at the temple, drawing the attention of the authorities there. Sabyasachi also pledged to bear the expenses for the rituals at the temple for 6 months.
Speaking to the media, Dharmendra said the Uttarakhand CM has assured beautification and promotion of the shrine and development of the area into a pilgrimage centre. “We also invited him to Puri. We are also planning to take devotees from Puri to Uttarakashi on pilgrimage tour. This will strengthen the tie between Odisha and Uttrakhand and give a new direction to the tourism sector of both states,” he said.
While praising the efforts of Puri Jagannath Temple servitor Janardan Pattjoshi Mohapatra, Sabyasachi and Archita for bringing to the fore such a pertinent site of religious importance, the Union Minister further said that he had seen the tweet by the actor about the hidden temple in the Uttarkashi area, where the rituals and prayers were not offered regularly.
The servitor had come across the temple while visiting Dehradun, where he had gone to drop his daughter, last year. The rituals at the temple were being performed only three days in a week. He informed the actor about it. The actor along with his wife went to the Jagannath temple and invited local people to have a discussion on how to perform rituals on a regular basis.
“Uttrakhand CM was well aware about the incident and expressed his gratitude towards Sabyasachi for his efforts,” he added.
The star couple also participated in the discussion via video conferencing.
The historical temple was originally inaugurated by the revered Adi Shankaracharya and had long be lying neglected.
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