The auspicious Mahadeep will be raised atop the Lord Lingaraj temple in Bhubaneswar at 10 pm on Maha Shivratri, on March 1.
The decision was taken at a crucial meeting between the servitors and the executive officer of Lord Lingaraj Temple office in Bhubaneswar at the temple office on Thursday.
At the meeting, all the nijogs of the temple like Brahman Nijog, Puja Panda Nijog and Badu Nijag agreed to extend their full cooperation for the smooth conduct of Maha Shivratri, which is one of the important occasions observed at the 11th century Lord Shiva shrine.
The servitors raised the issue of problems faced during the performance of ‘Chaturddashi Bedha Niti’ (a ritual) due to crowd and requested deployment of policemen as a preventive measure.
Brahman Nijog secretary Biranchi Narayan Pati said, “Our issues were discussed and he (the executive officer) assured us to solve them. He also sought our cooperation for completion of all rituals including the raising of Mahadeep as per the fixed time table.”
When contacted, executive officer of Lord Lingaraj temple office, Bhabani Prasad Mishra, said, “The servitors expressed their willingness to cooperate with us in observing the festival. For the smooth conduct of the festival, they suggested us to take steps by holding discussions with various stakeholders and we will be doing accordingly.”