West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee visited the site of an upcoming Jagannath temple at Digha in Purba Medinipur to review its construction. She informed that the temple, inspired by Puri’s Jagannath temple, would be inaugurated on April 30, 2025.
“We decided to construct a Jagannath temple along the beach. After three years, the project was successfully completed,” she said, adding that the government has so far spent Rs 250 crore on the temple which spans over 20 acres of land. The site is called Jagannath Dham Sanskriti Kendra.
The chief minister announced that a Rath Yatra would be organised in Digha starting next year. Discussing the temple’s blueprint, she said that she would personally donate Rs 5 lakh for the golden broom that is required as part of the traditions of the Rath Yatra.
For the maintenance of the temple, the government has formed a trust which will be led by the chief secretary. Purba Medinipur’s district magistrate, superintendent of police, representatives of ISKCON, along with an additional district magistrate, who will manage temple-related tourism, are some of the other members of the trust, the chief minister said.
Banerjee further stated that there would be designated spaces for a dining room, storage room, guest room, resting area and a police kiosk. A separate section will be allocated for selling puja items. Additionally, provisions will be made to facilitate the sale of goods by women from self-help groups. Members of the Sanatan community will also operate shops in the area.
The marble statue has been completed, while the neem wood idol is still in progress. A temple dedicated to Goddess Lakshmi will also be constructed, along with the creation of Chaitanya Dwar (gate), which will serve as the main entrance. The gateway will feature an idol of Lord Chaitanya and will be named “Chaitanyadwar Jagannath Dham”.
Similar to Puri, arrangements will be made for flag hoisting. Discussions were held with officials of Puri temple regarding this. The chief minister has also requested that experienced individuals from Puri, skilled in temple flag hoisting, be sent to Digha for this purpose.
Meanwhile, West Bengal Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, who is from Purba Medinipur, criticised the West Bengal government’s decision to build a Jagannath temple inspired by Puri’s ancient temple which is one of the four Char Dham pilgrimage sites.
CM Banerjee also refused to draw comparisons between Digha’s Jagannath temple and Puri’s temple. She said, “Puri’s temple was built by ancient kings. This one is constructed by the government.”