Controversies have surrounded the puri jagannath temple replica, which was dedicated by West bengal Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Akshaya Tritiya at Digha on april 30.
 
It is believed that the idols at the Digha temple were made using unapproved use of the sacred neem wood that was left over from the 2015 Nabakalebar ritual at the puri Jagannath Temple. During the Nabakalebar ceremony, new idols made of precious neem wood are put inside the puri jagannath temple in place of the ancient ones of Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra, and Sudarshan. The ceremony is performed 12–19 years later.

FIR filed against the senior servitor
A socio-religious group called Jagannath Sena has complained to ramakrishna Das Mahapatra, the secretary of the Daitapati servitor community, at the Singhadwara police station for his involvement in the Digha Temple's inaugural event.
 
The Jagannatha Sena filed the complaint, calling for an inquiry into the illegal transfer of holy neem wood (Darus) from the puri temple to the Digha temple to make statues.  An RTI activist named Jayanta Das had already submitted an internet complaint, accusing ramakrishna Das Mahapatra of removing the wood without the temple administration's consent.  

"How did the holy wood get there?  Was it taken with money or was it stolen?  Because of the impending Rath Yatra, efforts are being taken to conceal the problem.  The entire community of servants in puri and odisha has been defamed because of certain vested interest individuals.  The convener of the Jagannath Sena, priyadarshan Patnaik, stated that severe measures should be implemented in response to the unlawful activities that have occurred.  

The Jagannath Sena demanded an official confirmation of the amount of daru currently kept as well as a thorough audit of the Darughara, the area used for storing wood.  According to the organization, handling the shared neem wood without permission is a religious offense that needs to be handled legally.

Odisha Law minister directs puri Jagannath administration to investigate the matter
In an internal investigation of the naming of the Digha temple after the 12th-century Jagannath puri temple in odisha, odisha Law minister Prithiviraj Harichandan wrote to Arabinda Kumar Padhee, the Chief Administrator of the puri jagannath temple, on Friday, May 2.  The minister deemed it "totally unacceptable" that servants from Jagannath puri temple participated in the Digha temple's inaugural ceremony and that the idols in the new temple were carved from sacred neem wood.  
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SIBY JEYYA

05/05/2025 08:32 AM