The Rajarajeswar Besha, popularly known as Suna Besha, rituals of the Holy Trinity were conducted yesterday. However, devotees alleged that due to the crowding of servitors on the chariots, they failed to have darshan of the deities.
The three deities were adorned with heavy gold ornaments aboard the chariots in front of the Singha Dwara of the 12th century shrine on Wednesday.
As the rituals were conducted without devotees as part of restrictions clamped to avoid the spread of COVID-19, the deities' Suna Besha was telecast live on television. While devotees were eagerly waiting to have a glimpse of the Lords, the alleged rush of servitors on the chariots reportedly deprived them of the divine darshan.
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"The government had claimed that everything would be hassle-free and we can have darshan of the deities on TV, but we couldn't," lamented a devotee.
"During Suna Besha, there is a ritual called Sandhya Dhupa and therefore, servitors jostled on the chariot even after repeated instructions. We are saddened for what happened and try to mend it," said senior servitor, Binayak Das Mohapatra.
Meanwhile, Puri district collector Samarth Verma said that the administration will look into the matter and, with everybody's coperation, try to avoid such instances in future.