The Odisha Society of England has decided to establish a permanent Lord Jagannath temple in United Kingdom.

Jagannath temple to be set up in UK

The Odisha Society of England has decided to establish a permanent Lord Jagannath temple in United Kingdom. A search for a suitable location for the shrine in London has started.

National coordinators of the Odisha Society of England Braja Nayak and Bandini Nayak met Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik at his residence, Naveen Nivas, on Wednesday and discussed the problems faced by Odia residents in the United Kingdom along with the problems they face when they visit Odisha. They urged the Chief Minister to open an NRO Cell in the State to help Odias settled in the UK, the United States, Canada, Australia, Europe and the Middle East.

Such discussions were initiated during the recent visit of the Chief Minister to the UK. Patnaik agreed for all kind of help and support to the non-resident Odias. He also proposed to the Odisha Society of England to establish an Odisha House or Odisha Bhavan in the UK to showcase the State’s rich cultural heritage.

Those present at the meeting included Odisha Tourism Development Corporation chairman Dr Jyotiskar Mohapatra, who said the State Tourism Department has proposed to appoint Odias settled abroad as honorary goodwill ambassadors to promote the State’s cultural heritage in their respective countries and attract more and more tourists to the State.

It was learnt that location of suitable land either in London, Birmingham or Wallsall to establish the proposed Jagannath temple is being taken up with the local administrations. The Chief Minister instructed the OTDC Chairman to take follow-up action.