Today on the occasion of Maha Shivratri, some people in the grab of servitors are allegedly selling VIP passes to devotees at Lingaraj Temple in Bhubaneswar.
Thousands of devotees throng the 11th-century shrine to pay obeisance and have a darshan of Lord Lingaraj on Maha Shivratri. Devotees are seen standing in serpentine queues while waiting for their turns.
This year is no different. A large number of devotees are turning up at the shrine. However, it was alleged that some people in the guise of servitors are offering passes to devotees who want to avoid standing for hours in queues and who are capable of paying something. These people are allegedly selling VIP passes to these devotees. The price of a pass ranges between Rs 150 and Rs 800. Considering the urgency and paying capacity of a devotee, the price varies.
“Since I have to take a bus to go home, I bought a pass from a servitor at the gate paying Rs 200,” said a devotee.
“I have entered the shrine after buying a pass from the servitors deployed by the temple administration at the gate. I bought it for Rs 500,” said another devotee.
(Reported by Bibartan Panda, OTV)