Nayagarh: Temple artisans of Odagaon block in Nayagarh district are in high demand having carved a niche for themselves apart from propagating Jagannath culture in the country and abroad. In the last twenty years, the national capital Delhi has witnessed the construction of more than 12 Jagannath temples, of which 10 are already established and others are soon to be completed. There are two existing temples in the Green Park and Tyagrajnagar area, which were built many years ago. Places under National Capital Region (NCR) like Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurugram, Bhiwandi, Faridabad, Jhilmil, Bahadurgarh, Haryana’s Sohna along with Haridwar in Uttarakhand are witnessing the construction of more than 12 Jagannath temples.
Notably, Krushna Chandra Barad, Ramachandra Bishoi, Ranjan Nayak, Sanatan Subudhi, Dilip Pradhan, Prakash Pradhan, and Santosh Pradhan are some of the prominent names among hundreds of temple artisans of Odagaon. Seven to eight artists are working on a single temple. The temples are being constructed in a way that they will resemble Srimandir in Puri.
Apart from the main temple, temples for the side deities, ‘JagaMohan’, ‘Nata Mandir’, and 22 steps are also being built like the original one in Puri showcasing the tradition of Srimandir and Jagannath culture of Odisha. Asked about temple works, chief artisan Krushnachandra Barad says that the building of more than a hundred temples in NCR region has given steady income sources for many temple artisans making them financially independent.
The budget of a single temple varies from Rs 30 lakh to Rs 1 crore. The establishment of the Jagannath temple situated in Sector 24 of Rohini took 12 years to complete and was inaugurated recently. The inaugural ceremony started February 20 on the premises of Shree Jagannath Sewa Sangha (Rohini). President Rakesh Kumar Gupta and Secretary Pawan Jain along with other members ensured smooth conduct during the event. The consecration process of the temple was performed by vedic pundits under the guidance of Ashok Kumar Padhi from Ganjam.