Posters urge servitors to fight for their rights

Puri: Urging the servitors to fight for their rights, posters were again put up by the Shree Jagannath Sevayat Sammilani (SJSS) at the South Gate of Lord Jagannath Temple here on Sunday.

The rights of the servitors, their family members to have darshan of the deities in the coming Niladri Bije should be kept intact, is what the SJSS has asked the servitors to demand during the next Ratha Yatra Coordination Committee meeting. It is necessary to save the rights, tradition and pride of the servitors, the posters read.

Earlier on June 3, the SJSS had taken out a rally from the Lord Jagannath Temple to the venue of the third Ratha Yatra Coordination Committee meeting and had submitted a memorandum to law minister Pratap Jena claiming that touching the Idol of Lord Jagannath is the birth right of servitors and they should not be barred by the temple administration.

The servitors, who had earlier boycotted the 1st and 2nd coordination meetings, boycotted the third one too over touching the Idol of Lord Jagannath issue and said there is no point in dividing them into authorised and unauthorised servitors.