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The Tripura government Monday said it was contemplating forming a trust for the Chaturdasha Devata temple in Khayerpur, a few kilometres from Agartala.
Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha made the announcement while attending the inaugural event of the annual ‘Kharchi Puja’ at the Khayerpur temple.
“I eagerly waited for the Kharchi festival. Earlier, the infrastructure at the temple was not so good. Our government is trying to improve the infrastructure here. The need to form a trust has been brought to my attention. We all know that a trust has been formed for the Tripura Sundari temple in Udaipur. If there is no legal issue, we shall look into forming a trust for the Chouddo Devata Bari as well,” said CM Saha.
TIPRA Motha chief Pradyot Kishore Debbarma also visited the Chaturdasha Devata temple Monday.
“I came here as it is a part of my tradition… If we want to take our dofa (community) ahead, we should not forget our identity, history or else our future will be at stake,” he said.
Rinku Roy, a devotee, said: “The Kharchi Puja is generally observed by the Tripuris. But now, people from all communities come and worship here. I have been coming here for the last 15-16 years.”
The Chaturdasha Devata Mandir was built by Maharaja Krishna Manikya.
The temple has 14 idols of deities, such as Shiva, Durga, Vishnu, Lakshmi, Saraswati, Kartikeya, Ganesha, Brahma, Prithvi, Samudra, Ganga, Agni, Kamdev, and Himadri.
Kharchi Puja is the worship of all these 14 gods — who together make up the ancestral pantheon of deities of the erstwhile royal family of Tripura.
Earlier in 2019, former chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb formed a trust for Mata Tripura Sundari Temple. The trust is headed by the chief minister. The objective was to develop Tripura Sundari Temple along the lines of Vaishno Devi temple and attract tourists.
An exercise to evaluate all jewels and valuables in possession of the Tripura Sundari temple was undertaken in July 2019. During the exercise, the trust recorded 12.95 kg gold and 65.176 kg silver, and a pearl necklace weighing 29 gm, among other assets in possession of the Mata Tripura Sundari temple.
The Opposition Congress, however, later alleged many jewels were missing from the temple’s vaults and sought a high-level inquiry.
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