Odisha-born industrialist Biswanath Patnaik has donated Rs 250 crore to a UK-based charitable foundation to build Britain’s first Jagannath temple. Notably, this is the largest donation an Indian businessman has ever given to build a temple abroad.
The pledge was made by the businessman during the first Jagannath Convention held on Akshaya Tritiya in London by the Shree Jagannatha Society (SJS), UK. Shree Jagannatha Society (SJS), is a UK-based charity working on the project to build Britain’s first temple dedicated to Lord Jagannatha in London. The organisation welcomed the charity of GBP 25 million, around Rs 250 crore in INR. The charity hopes to get the first phase of the construction to be over by the end of the year.
Reportedly, UK-based Arjun Kar, is the principal donor of the project. The charity confirmed that the pledge has been done for the purchase towards the 15 acres of land for the new temple- known as Shree Jagannatha Mandir London.
A pre-planning application has been submitted to the local government council to obtain approval for the construction of the Mandir, and sufficient land has been found and is currently being purchased, according to the charity.
Over 600 devotees from across the UK and Ireland registered for the convention, the first of its kind in Europe. Indian deputy high commissioner Sujit Ghosh and Amish Tripathi, author and minister of culture and education at the Indian High Commission were among the dignitaries present at the convention.
Gajapati Maharaj Shri Dibyasingha Deb, the titular maharaja of Puri and Lord Jagannatha’s aadya sevak (first and foremost servant), as well as the titular maharani Leelabati Pattamahadei, attended the convention.
Speaking to the convention at the Navnat Center in Hayes, Gajapati Maharaj discussed Lord Jagannatha’s customs and the significance of Purushottama Kshetra. He also expressed his satisfaction that Lord Jagannatha’s worship has steadily extended to other regions of India and the world.
“The all-encompassing universality of Lord Jagannatha’s heritage is its most important feature. Almost all of the many religious sampradayas invoke and revere him, each in their way. Buddhists, Jains, and Sikhs all revere Lord Jagannatha,” according to Gajapati Maharaja.
Dr Sahadev Swain, chair of the SJS UK, also expressed his joy and optimism that the temple will emerge as a major destination for pilgrims and the epicentre of Jagannatha culture in Europe. On the same auspicious day of Akshaya Tritiya, The Shree Jagannatha Society UK was founded and registered with the charity commission three years ago.
The charity after getting the pledge from Patnaik from the construction of the temple, the charity stated, “We will work together with faith in Lord Jagannatha to make the dream of a Mandir a reality at the earliest.
Biswanath Patnaik is the chairman and founder of FinNest Group of companies, which invests in renewables, electric vehicles (EVs), hydrogen locomotives, etc. According to reports, the former banker-turned-businessman has an MBA, an LLB, and a BA in Economics. Patnaik entered the world of business in 2009 after spending several years working in the banking industry. Patnaik’s investments span a wide range of industries, from healthcare, fintech, and renewable energy to gold refinery and bullion trade in Dubai.
Patnaik recently shared plans to invest Rs 500 crore in an EV-Hydrogen truck and commercial heavy vehicles manufacturing plant in Odisha.
As per sources, Bhakta Panda, Aditya Singh, Santosh Pattnayak, Chetan Shatapathy, Sukanta Sahu, Amita Mishra, Nidhi Kar, and Anjan Mishra – famously performed a victory prayer for British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and handed him gold-plated deities from India during his leadership campaign trail in London last year are some of the Indian-origin trustees.
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