News from Puri

The auspicious occasion of Mahalaya marks the end of the Pitru Paksha, otherwise known as Shradh. Those who couldn’t offer ‘pinda' to their forefathers during the 16 days of the Pitru Paksha, are doing the same today. 

After the 'Madhyana dhoopa,' a 'Pasarautha' staff was carrying 'Pitha Bhoga (cake offering) of 'Kothabhoga Suar'. when a servitor and staff had fisticuffs near the sanctum sanctorum

About 500 years ago, the beams were dismantled from the shrine and stocked at a place.

Servitors have also demanded cloakroom and changing room facilities near all four gates of the temple so that a devotee can change his/her clothes easily before entering the shrine. 

As per the decision, the devotees visiting the temple will be sensitized about the new rule through awareness drives. The Jagannath Temple Police and Pratihari servitors will check adherence to the rule. 

The devotees enter the temple in queues. While waiting for their turn, they, mostly elderly ones, children, and diabetic patients, need toilet facilities. But surprisingly enough, there is no toilet near the eastern gate.

The SJTA in its report stated that a permanent chief administrator has been appointed and for the propagation of Jagannath Culture, a school and a Gurukul have been set up for the children of the servitors. 

As per the tradition, Puri Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingha Deb entrusts these Brahmins to perform the Sodasha Upachar Puja of Devi Bimala inside the shrine. 

With these institutes struggling with lack of infrastructure, the students are forced to sit either under trees or in cyclone shelters across the state.

The girl’s hands and legs were tied and Puri Police suspects that the victim was murdered and attempts were made to destroy the evidence as well.

However, other decisions were taken in the meeting, which was headed by the Special Administrator, Ajay Kumar Jena held at the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) office in Puri.

Every year, this ‘Krushna Balaram Besha’ is observed at the shrine on the “Trayodashi (thirteenth day) of “Krushna Pakshya” (dark fortnight) of lunar month of “Bhadraba”. 

A minor scuffle between the policemen deployed at the southern gate and the demonstrators was witnessed when the latter tried to enter the shrine forcefully through the southern gate.

It is said that the regular train operation of the second Vande Bharat Express is likely to start from this month end between Puri and Rourkela.

As per reports, Nandotsav was being held at Srimandir on Thursday which continued till Friday morning and Lord Jagannath’s rituals got delayed for some reasons.