‘Construction work of Digha’s Jagannath temple going on in full swing’
Kolkata: State Urban Development and Municipal Affairs minister Firhad Hakim said on Thursday that construction work of the Jagannath temple in Digha is going on in full swing and is expected to be over by the beginning of next year.
“The construction work of Jagannath temple in Digha will be over by December or January 2024 and accordingly, it will be thrown open for visitors. Lakhs of people who visit Puri for the Jagannath temple can come to Digha as the shrine that we are developing is more or less of the same size and height as that of Puri. It will be a big boost to religious tourism in the state,” Hakim said in response to a query from Trinamool Congress MLA Humayun Kabir in the state Assembly.
Hakim added that Rs 143 crore is being spent for the temple which is being built by the West Bengal Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation (WBHIDCO) on a 20-acre plot near the Digha sea beach.
The temple, whose construction had started from May 2022, will have idols of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra. The Digha Shankarpur Development Authority (DSDA) will be running the affairs of the temple when the construction is complete.
The temple, a brainchild of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, will be 65m in height. Best quality sandstone imported from Banshi Paharpur in Rajasthan is being used for construction.
There will be shops associated with puja rituals just adjacent to the temple, a green cover in the form of a garden will surround the shrine and there will be parking spaces too.
In response to a query from ISF MLA Naushad Siddiqui, Hakim said Rs 58.62 crore has been approved for development of Furfura Sharif in Hooghly as of March 31, 2023. The funds will be spent through the Furfura Sharif Development Authority (FSDA).
The minister also said that no space for the office of the FSDA has been found till date near the site so it was functioning from the SDO office at Sreerampore. “Recently, we have got a vested land beside the gate of Furfura Sharif where we will develop an office and a passenger cabin,” Hakim said.
