Odisha set to patent words and logo associated with Puri Jagannath Temple

It would provide legal validity to cultural, religious and spiritual identity of the Puri temple

- PBD BUREAU/PTI

IN light of the ongoing dispute with West Bengal over the naming of the Digha temple as a "Dham," the Shree Jagannath Temple Managing Committee (SJTMC) on Monday decided to patent certain words and logos associated with the 12th-century shrine in Odisha.

A proposal to this effect was approved at the SJTMC meeting chaired by the Gajapati Maharaja of Puri, Dibyasingha Deb, and attended by ex-officio members including Chief Secretary Manoj Ahuja, Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) Chief Administrator Arabinda Padhee, Puri District Collector Siddharth Shankar Swain, Puri SP Vinit Agarwal, and others.

"The SJTA will soon apply to patent terms like Mahaprasad (bhog), Srimandir (temple), Shree Jagannath Dham (place), Shreekshetra (place), and Purushottam Dham (place), among others. A proposal in this regard has been approved by the SJTMC," said SJTA Chief Administrator Arabinda Padhee, an IAS officer, while addressing reporters.

Padhee noted that patenting specific words and logos related to the Jagannath Temple would serve as a legal instrument to protect the cultural, religious and spiritual identity of the Puri temple.