German tourist not allowed to enter Puri Jagannath Temple

A 35-year-old German tourist who tried to enter the Puri Jagannath Temple, was prevented from doing so by the priests because this temple is off limits to non-Hindus. The police detained the German based on a complaint filed by the one of the priests.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 27 February 2017.

The German tourist had arrived in Puri three days earlier and claimed to be a disciple of Lord Krishna and a follower of international society for Krishna consciousness (ISKCON) and when he was prevented from entering from the main gate, he tried to enter from one of the other gates.
He possesses a valid passport and, admitted that he was aware of the temple's restriction on the access of non-Hindus but his argument was that he was a staunch follower of Lord Jagannath and had visited several other Hindu temples in India and, why should he not be slowed to enter this temple.
Incidentally, in spite of such a rule, there have been instances of foreigners who gained entry into the shrine in the past and had to undergo inhuman behavior in the hands of aggrieved priests. In fact, on December 28, 2010, an American woman was humiliated and thrown out of the shrine by a group of priests.
Such actions do not auger well for the tourism industry.


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This has been reported in thestatesman.com dated 21 September 2016.

The village is spread across 100 acres. ISKCON's GEV is a sustainable farming community and retreat center located near Mumbai. It is a setup where 100 per cent recycling is demonstrated. Everything that is produced is consumed and recycled into bio-reusable material.
On the occasion, GEV also received the honor of being branded as the International Green World Ambassador. Green Organization was started in 1994 and is an independent, non-profit, non-political, environment group, dedicated to recognizing, rewarding and promoting best environmental practice around the world.


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This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 27 August 2016.

It may be recalled that the industrial group DCL had introduced catamaran service in Kolkata to ferry passengers to and from Kolkata and Haldia but, due to lack of enough high-end passengers it was closed down. However, the new setup is confident of the viability of Catamaran services. The cost of each upstream or downstream trip to each destination would be pegged at Rs 3,000-3,500 per person. The boats can hit a top speed of 58 mph, or 93 km/hr.
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