TV
Lord Lingaraj has been going hungry since last evening following a dispute between Pujapanda Nijog and Badu Nijog. While devotees are allowed darshan, the rituals have not been observed since last evening. The Mangala Alati was also not conducted on Sunday, reports said.
Non-observance of the rituals has triggered outrage among devotees as the Pujapanda Nijog and Badu Nijog continued to lock horns over ‘Paita Lagi Niti’, forcing the Lord to go hungry.
According to sources, the ‘Paita Lagi Niti’ has been put on hold since the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic. The dispute is currently in the Court with the judgment yet to come. On the other hand, a few devotees and others staged a protest demanding the resumption of all the rituals.
“Our only demand is that the issue gets solved as soon as possible. So, we are sitting on protest here. This is not the first time this has been going on since 2015. Despite High Court orders, the rituals are still not being observed. This has created faction between the servitors,” said a protestor.
“Since then, one after another ritual is not been observed. First, they did not observe ‘chapa’ and then ‘sitala sasthi’ followed by other rituals. Slowly, they are stopping all the rituals,” he added.
Despite repeated complaints, no steps are being taken in this regard, the protestors alleged.
Meanwhile, no comments could be obtained from the Temple administration over the matter.
