Located on the seaside and adjacent to the New Digha Railway Station, the magnificent Jagannath Dham — spread across 22 acres — will cost the West Bengal government approximately Rs 143 crore.
The temple, a pet project of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, is expected to be completed in March 2024.
It is likely to open for devotees in April, months after the Ram Lalla idol is consecrated at the Ram temple in Ayodhya in a big-ticket ceremony in January — the two events almost bookending the campaign for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls where the Modi government is looking to secure a third term in power.
The Jagannath Dham is seen as Mamata’s answer to the BJP’s efforts to project her as “anti-Hindu” and a “minority appeaser”.
The BJP has labelled the entire temple project a farce, saying the state government cannot use taxpayers’ money to build a religious institution.
In that light, leader of the Opposition in the assembly Suvendu Adhikari told ThePrint earlier, the under-construction structure is not a temple but a cultural centre.
On its part, the Trinamool Congress has refused to comment on the BJP’s claims, just saying that they are honouring the desires of local residents.
If the temple has become something of a political hot potato, the residents of Digha couldn’t care less.
Speaking to ThePrint, they said they couldn’t wait for the “arrival of Lord Jagannath” in their midst.
“The chief minister had promised us a temple here and she has delivered. We are very happy and looking forward to tourists and devotees coming here in large numbers,” said Sushma Jena, who lives in a nearby village.
“This will increase business prospects for us. We can open homestays and shops, and the men can operate electric rickshaws to ferry tourists. We don’t have to leave our home state to earn money,” she added. “It’s Lord Jagannath’s blessings.”
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‘Truly special’
The Jagannath Dham is being constructed by the West Bengal Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation (WBHIDCO), with Kolkata-based Salient Design Studio handling the design and architecture.
Set up in 2005, Salient is headed by former IIT-Roorkee gold-medallist Vivek Singh Rathore, who serves as its design principal, and his wife Anuradha Rathore, the landscape principal.
Its other projects include City Centre Patna, besides the Kolkata-based luxury Taj Taal Kutir, the boutique hotel Raajkutir, Mother’s wax museum, the Milan Mela convention centre, and the Bangla Misti Hub, a government initiative to promote local sweets.
The foundation stone for Jagannath Dham was laid in 2019, just before Covid struck.
Since construction work began three years later, over 1,000 construction workers — from West Bengal as well as Odisha, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan — have been working night and day to bring the temple to life.
“We began construction in May 2022. In record time, we will open the gates of the temple. Scores of devotees, YouTube vloggers are flocking here already to get a glimpse of the temple,” said Hossein. “But since construction is under way, outsiders are not allowed inside.”
The team at work includes Liaqat Ali, 72, of Agra, who excels in carving stone. Under him, a team of 15-20 workers are carving intricate figures into walls made of Rajasthan’s special Bansi Paharpur sandstone, which is also being used in the construction of the Ayodhya Ram temple.
“To carve one figure on the stone takes 10-15 days. I have built several places of worship and this one will truly be special,” Ali told ThePrint as he carefully chiselled the pale pink stone.
Under a tarpaulin canopy, Pradeep Jena and other workers from Odisha sat in a crouch, carving an 8-foot block of sandstone into a lion that will stand guard at the temple entrance.
Two tigers and 69 lions will be erected on and around the temple premises. At the Puri temple, which inspires the Digha Jagannath Dham, two of the gates are associated with tigers and lions, with the link carrying specific significance.
Each animal figure takes up to a month to carve, the team said, adding that the smaller ones take about 15 days.
When ThePrint visited, another group of workers was placing stones above the temple’s sanctum sanctorum, which will tower at a height of 214 feet.
“It was a task to get workers to climb this height,” said Hossein. “Many refused to climb to the top and left. We had to bring a fresh set of workers who could scale this height and work,” he added. “To ease out their nerves, we have covered the tower with green cloth, so that the workers don’t get dizzy looking down.”
The flooring of the temple will be laid with marble imported from Vietnam. The slabs are being brought to the site from the Kolkata Port in trucks.
The premises will have two entry points, one for common devotees and the other for VIPs. The temple will be surrounded by gardens, will also house a temple storeroom, bhog hall and parking facility.
In the adjoining village of Bhagibharampur, the residents are keeping a keen eye on the project.
“We never imagined Lord Jagannath would come to reside in our village. We are waiting for the temple to be completed,” said Pushpita Jena.
“Since entry is not allowed now, we stand on our terrace and watch the work being done,” she added. Jena said the plot on which the temple is coming up used to have tall sand hills and a canopy of trees, and was a frequent shooting site for Bengali films.
“We have seen actors like Dev, Nusrat, Prosenjit and Rituparna, but now we are even more excited to have the three Gods residing among us,” she added.
A political row erupts
When CM Mamata Banerjee visited the site on 4 April along with senior administrative officials, she said “this Jagannath temple will not just be a religious structure, but an embodiment of the rich cultural heritage and traditions of our country”.
“It is expected to foster tourism and attract visitors from all over the world, thereby boosting the economy of the region. This temple will provide a platform for people from all walks of life to come together and celebrate our shared beliefs,” she added.
The BJP, however, has panned the project, with MLA Suvendu Adhikari saying that “the Constitution of our country bars governments from building any religious infrastructure”.
“If you see the Ram mandir, the central government or the UP government isn’t building it. The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra Trust is building the magnificent Ram Mandir,” he said.
The BJP’s approach in West Bengal has been centred on targeting Mamata over what they call her appeasement politics.
Analysts say while Mamata has managed to take some of the sting out of the attack, the temple could translate to further political dividends for her.
“Mamata Banerjee and her party are likely to focus on the state government’s development schemes, [what they call] the Modi government’s ‘undemocratic approach’ and ‘vindictive attitude towards Bengal’ in their electoral campaign,” said political analyst Snigdhendu Bhattacharya.
“The inauguration of the temple — if it finally happens as scheduled — would help them fight the BJP’s narrative of Modi bringing golden times for the Hindus,” he added.
According to Bhattacharya, “the anti-Hindu branding of Mamata Banerjee that the BJP did during 2014-2021, alleging that her government is trying to stop Durga Puja and Saraswati Puja to appease Muslims, has been significantly blunted over the past three-four years with Banerjee’s pro-Hindu outreach programme”.
“Such a temple inauguration would help Banerjee further display her religious work for the Hindus,” he said.
(Edited by Sunanda Ranjan)
Source: The Print
