IRCTC apologises for posting wrong picture of Jagannath temple

The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) today tendered an apology for posting a picture of an 'ISKCON temple' as 'Puri Jagannath Temple' at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) in Mumbai.

"The news article appeared in Odisha newspapers where IRCTC posters of Bharat Darshan has shown ISKCON temple instead of Puri Jagannath Temple. The posters were displayed at Mumbai where this has happened inadvertently. All the posters have now been removed. Our sincere apology," IRCTC East Zone said in its Twitter handle.

The issue was raised by priests of Sri Jagannath Temple after Shambhu Nath Khuntia, a servitor of Puri Jagannath temple during his recent visit to Mumbai, found an ISKCON temple photo in place of the 12th-century shrine in Puri.

Protesting the IRCTC's action, Khuntia immediately posted the image on social media which sparked a statewide resentment. Subsequently, Sri Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) also wrote to the Indian Railways and protested the IRCTC's act of displaying a wrong picture in the name of Puri Temple.

"We have written a strong letter to the Indian Railways for posting the wrong picture in the name of Puri Temple," said SJTA official Sujit Chatterji.

Meanwhile, Puri-based Jagannath Sena Convenor Priyadarshan Pattnaik appealed to the IRCTC to remove such posters. He also described such activities as a disrespect to the Lord Jagannath and its millions of devotees across the world.