Cuttack, May 10: The Justice Bimal Prasad Das Commission has ordered a probe into functioning of the Puri Shree Jagannath Temple kitchen.

The one-man commission of inquiry, appointed by the state government to bring in reforms into functioning of the 12th century temple, has constituted a five-member committee for the purpose.

The kitchen is arguably the largest community kitchen in the world. Situated in the southeast direction of the outer compound of the shrine, the 32-room kitchen area is 150-ft-long and 100-ft-wide. It is 20-ft-high. A total of 250 earthen ovens are present in the kitchen where around 600 suaras (cooks) and 400 assistants work to prepare food for the temple's deities. Called the Mahaprasad, this food is served to more than 10,000 people on a daily basis.

"As access to the Rosasalah (temple kitchen) is denied to everyone except the suaras, the commission has formed a committee of five senior suaras to submit within one month a report on functioning of the temple kitchen," commission secretary B.P. Parija told The Telegraph today.

"Accordingly, the commission has issued a communication to the temple administration and the Suara Nijoga (a body of the suaras)," Parija said.

There are two wells in the temple complex for the purpose of supplying water to the kitchen. These are named as Ganga and Jamuna and both are situated near the kitchen. The radius of the wells is more than 10ft and both are 100-ft-deep.

"The commission expects a report on the temple kitchen largely from the sanitation and drainage point of view and whether there is a need for renovation," Parija said. "It also expects the status of the two wells, one of which was reported to have dried up."

The commission of inquiry was appointed on July 23 last year following the attack on the Puri district collector and delay in conducting the rituals of Lord Jagannath on the niladri bije day on July 17.

Justice Das, a retired high court judge who started working on September 29 last year, submitted an interim report to the state government on April 20. The commission was expected to submit a report within six months. It has been given an extension of another six months. Now, the deadline is July 22.