New signage has been set up at the Jagannath temple premises in Digha, East Midnapore district, replacing the word ‘Dham’ with ‘Cultural Centre’. The change came after the state government officially renamed the complex.
Previously, the temple in Digha was referred to as ‘Jagannath Dham’, causing controversy. The former Trinamool Congress government had added ‘Dham’ after the temple’s construction, despite official documents labeling it as a ‘Cultural Centre’.
Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, who was then the Leader of the Opposition, had raised concerns about this naming discrepancy. With the new government in place, Adhikari announced the temple would now be known as ‘Shri Sri Jagannath Cultural Centre’, aligning with official records.
The name change was prompted by a proposal from Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, which Adhikari accepted. The revised nomenclature will now identify the complex as ‘Shri Sri Jagannath Cultural Centre’, eliminating the term ‘Jagannath Dham’.
A new flex displaying the updated name has been installed at the temple premises, replacing the previous signage that read ‘Jagannath Dham’. The move was supported by Ramnagar BJP MLA Chandrashekhar Mandal and Kolkata ISKCON President Radharman Das, who is a trustee of the temple.
“We don’t want change, we want correction,” stated MLA Chandrashekhar Mandal, emphasizing that the government merely rectified the naming issue without discarding the previous administration’s efforts. In light of the controversies surrounding the temple’s name, it has now been renamed ‘Digha Jagannath Temple and Cultural Centre’, omitting ‘Dham’.
