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CM visits Puri to review Rath Yatra arrangements
Following the death of three devotees in a stampede near Shree Gundicha temple in Puri, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Tuesday went to the pilgrim town to review the arrangements made for the upcoming rituals related to Rath Yatra.
Puri: Following the death of three devotees in a stampede near Shree Gundicha temple in Puri, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Tuesday went to the pilgrim town to review the arrangements made for the upcoming rituals related to Rath Yatra. After the stampede on Sunday, the Chief Minister himself issued an apology to the devotees. Majhi now wants to make sure that the remaining rituals, such as ‘Bahuda Yatra’ (return car festival), ‘Suna Besha’ (golden attire) and ‘Niladri Bije’ (deities’ entry to main temple) are completed smoothly.
Ahead of the Chief Minister’s visit, Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan held a marathon discussion with the senior servitors and listened to their grievances, like restrictions on them to climb the chariots, housing issues and children’s education.
The Jagannath temple in Puri functions under the Law department of the State government.
“We had a detailed discussion with the Law minister on different issues. The servitors have apprised him of being hurt for not getting permission to climb chariots. The administration allows only on-duty servitors to the chariots. We have demanded that all should be allowed to climb the chariot to have ‘darshan’ of the deities,” leader of Khuntia servitors Hajari K C Khuntia told reporters.
Noting that the servitors have assured the Law minister that they will complete all rituals according to tradition, Khuntia said they are scheduled to meet the Chief Minister.
Accompanied by the Law Minister, Majhi is also scheduled to hold a meeting with the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) and others to ensure smooth conduct of upcoming events, according to an official. The Chief Minister aims to make the remaining part of the festival incident-free so that lakhs of devotees return home with a “feel good experience”.
Following the stampede incident, the State government has transferred both the District Collector and the SP from Puri and suspended two senior police officers on charges of dereliction of duty. The government also appointed other experienced officers to handle the Rath Yatra affairs.
Meanwhile, Development Commissioner Anu Garg began the administrative inquiry into the stampede on Monday. She is mandated to submit the inquiry report within 30 days.
