Cuttack, Dec 28: Today the one-member commission that was constituted by the State government to suggest reforms in the repairing of the Puri Sri Mandir under the chairmanship of former Orissa High Court judge, Justice Bimal Prasad Das, has requested for an extension of the tenure of the commission. A letter in this regard was sent to the Odisha government in which it was stated that the commission requires some more time to review the affidavits it has received. The tenure of the commission is scheduled to end on January 22, 2017. This was informed to the media by the secretary of the commission, Bibhu Prasanna Parija. According to sources, in all, the commission has received 12,780 affidavits, which include 11,094 affidavits been submitted with the office of the commission, 1551 suggestions and 135 affidavits received through e-mail.
This apart, to review the affidavits, a lawyer, a retired police officer and an experienced official of the Shri Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) have been appointed by the commission. A letter to the Odisha government seeking recruitment of 2 data entry operators for listing and digitization of received affidavits, has also been written by the commission. Sources stated that the commission will be visiting the Puri temple soon.
Notably, considering the Niladri Bije fiasco on July 17 this year, the state government had set up a judicial commission headed by Justice Bimal Prasad Das on July 23 to suggest reforms in management of Puri Sri Jagannath temple.
