Stalemate over Banakalagi ritual at Puri Srimandir continues as sub-committee meeting bears no fruit 

The Niti (ritual) sub-committee meeting held on Friday to end the stalemate over the Banakalagi ritual of the deities at Srimandir in Puri didn’t bear any fruit. 

It was expected that something positive with respect to the ritual would come out of the Niti sub-committee’s meeting today. But the meeting ended without any consensus. 

After the meeting, while talking to journalists, the chief administrator of the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration, Ranjan Kumar Das said that the decision on the ritual will be taken on the management committee meeting to be held on August 1. 

“The management committee has the authority to take a final call on any issue. So it will be decided at that meeting scheduled to be held on August 1. We are trying to bring them (the servitors) around and we hope they do not misuse their power and would cooperate with the administration,” said Das. 

In this regard, Srimandir Management Committee member Ashok Mohapatra said, “I can’t say whether the impasse would end on coming Wednesday. It is out of the sub-committee’s power to take a decision on it. So the final decision will be taken at the managing committee meeting.”

On the other hand, the Dattamohapatra Nijog secretary said that they are willing to conduct the ritual on Wednesday if the managing committee decides so. The secretary of the Dattamohapatra Nijog said "We are ready to conduct the ritual on Wednesday if the managing committee finalizes the same. We want that the rituals should also be conducted on Thursdays as well. We request the temple administration to hold discussions with us." 

The ritual should have been observed on June 1.