Overview
- West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari accepted a letter from Odisha CM Mohan Charan Majhi that was delivered by Puri MP Sambit Patra and said on Tuesday that the word "Dham" will be removed from the Digha complex with a government notification to follow.
- Adhikari said the site will be treated as a cultural centre and mandir, that worship there will follow prescribed Sanatan norms, and he has directed the chief secretary to issue the formal order to change the name.
- The Digha Jagannath complex was inaugurated on April 30, 2025 as a state-funded, replica-style project spread over about 20 acres and built at an estimated cost near Rs 250 crore.
- Religious authorities in Puri, including the servitor community, had objected to the use of the term "Dham" and some barred participation in Digha rituals while ISKCON and the Digha trust have welcomed the renaming.
- The decision resolves a key point of interstate and partisan tension over cultural custodianship but leaves broader questions about ritual authority, trust oversight and the formal notification process to be watched next.