OdishaPlus Bureau

  • The Jagannath Temple Trust, UK, unveils plans for the construction of a grand Jagannath Temple in London
  • Virtual meeting held to commemorate the 41st annual convention
  • Members of Odia fraternity from UK, USA, Europe, India and other nations attended the meet
  • Membership drive initiated to raise funds for the temple

In a virtual meeting held to commemorate the 41st annual convention of the Odisha Society of United Kingdom (OSUK), the Jagannath Temple Trust (JTT, UK) unveiled its plan for the construction of a grand Jagannath Mandir Complex in London. Keeping the COVID-19 pandemic in mind, the event was scheduled on virtual platform and was attended by thousands of members of the Odia community across the globe.

The meeting prioritized its discourse on the construction of the blueprints for the temple. In addition to this, the trust aims to complete construction of Jagannath Mandir in the Greater London region by 2024 at an estimated expenditure of 4 million British Pounds. It is currently finalizing an appropriate site in the Greater London region for the construction of the temple.

Project will be a crowdfunding affair: JTT

The charitable organisation revealed that the project will be a community-led affair, in which the main stakeholders will be devotees of Lord Jagannath, with the UK Odia Community playing a pre-eminent role. A membership drive, inviting devotees to become stakeholders and partners in this spiritual journey was also inaugurated that aims to raise these funds entirely through generous donations from the UK Odia and Hindu community, Jagannath devotees across the world, corporate entities, philanthropic organisations and support from governmental organisations in the UK and India.

Vision to promote universal humanistic Jagannath culture

The Trust envisages that the Jagannath Mandir will become the epicenter of Jagannath culture in the UK and Europe, and a prominent landmark in London that will attract thousands of devotees and tourists from across the world. The Mandir Complex will also be a hub for the propagation of Hindu philosophy, and the promotion of educational, social, cultural, and philanthropic activities associated with Lord Jagannath and the hallowed land of Odisha. The Vision of the Jagannath Temple Trust is to promote the universal humanistic Jagannath culture and encourage religious harmony between various communities in the UK, besides enhancing spiritual and cultural activities that reflect the unifying composite spirit of Sanatana Dharma and it’s eternal principle of Vasudaiva Kutumbakam.

Stepping up with the trend: Emphasis on digitization

The trust also rolled out it’s digital vision which encompasses establishment of a spiritual and cultural e-Hub, an e-Library to preserve and showcase Jagannath heritage and literature, and a gateway and communication medium to devotees to connect with the Mandir to facilitate puja offerings, broadcast live events, and enable physical and digital participation in temple activities.

Eminent personalities opine Jagannath temple will be an iconic cultural hub

National Vice President and spokesperson of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Baijayanta Panda expressed his happiness and congratulated the Organisation for its noble doings. “Numerous countries across the globe have gladly accepted the Jagannath culture. And it’s time for UK to be a part of this. The construction of the temple will bring about a sense of communal harmony among the people of UK,” said Baijayanta Panda.

BJP Spokesperson Sambit Patra also took part in the virtual meeting and extended his gratitude in coming up with the thought of constructing the temple. He also shared his happiness and has hoped to see the temple getting its well-deserved recognition among the people of UK.

Founder and Editor-in-Chief, OdishaLIVE, Nilambar Rath congratulated OSUK on the pledge to build an iconic Jagannath Temple on twitter.

The Maharaja of Puri, Gajapati Maharaja Shri Dibya Singha Deb and Union Ministers Dharmendra Pradhan and Pratap Chandra Sarangi have extended their support for the cause. Dignitaries at the OSUK Convention, such as Speaker of the Odisha Assembly Surya Narayan Patra; Leader of Opposition in the Odisha Assembly Pradipta Kumar Naik; Odisha Tourism & OLLC Government Minister Jyoti Prakash Panigrahi; Members of Parliament Surjeet Kumar, Dr. Amar Patnaik, Dr. Sasmit Patra, Achyuta Samanta; Former MPs Ram Chandra Khuntia, Prasanna Kumar Patsani, Ranjib Biswal; Odisha Ratna Dr. Chandra Bhanu Satpathy; Padma Shri  Dr. Haladhar Nag; Shri Lokanath Director General of Police, Kerala, were amongst those who felicitated the Trustees of the Jagannath temple Trust.

 

 

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR