Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday said that her administration would plant 100 neem trees on the premises of the Jagannath temple in Digha to ensure there was no scarcity of the wood, which is mandatory to carve idols of Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra.

Mamata’s statement came in the backdrop of the recent allegation that leftover neem wood from Puri’s 12th-century Jagannath Dham had been used to carve the idols placed at the Digha shrine.

“Why will I steal? There is no scarcity of neem trees in Bengal. There are four neem trees at my home too. There are 500 trees planted on the Jagannath Dham premises. We will plant 100 more neem trees there,” said Mamata at her administrative meeting in Suti, Murshidabad district.

Odisha chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Tuesday wrote to Mamata, requesting the Bengal government to refrain from using the term “Jagannath Dham” for the Digha shrine.

The letter read: “....The name “Jagannath Dham” holds a unique and sacrosanct identity linked to Puri, and its usage in reference to any other temple or location hurts sentiment and emotion of millions of pilgrims, devotees, and the general public, besides diluting the distinct heritage of Shree Jagannath Dham, Puri.”

Majhi further said: “In view of this, I request the Government of West Bengal to reconsider the usage of the name “Jagannath Dham” in relation to the Jagannath temple recently established at Digha and refrain from using the term “Jagannath Dham” in its official naming, communication, and promotional materials.”