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Puri: A day after the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) issued notices to 11 servitors in connection with the Brahma Paribartan fiasco during the Nabakalebara of Lord Jagannath in 2015, Krushna Chandra Maharana, chief Maharana (carpenter) of Debadalan chariot of Devi Subhadra who was in-charge of construction of new idols of the holy Trinity blamed the daitapati servitors for the fiasco and alleged that there were massive irregularities in 'daru' selection.
Meanwhile, the Daitapati Nijog has refuted the charges whereas the Srimandir Temple administration is yet to comment on the matter.
“Firstly, had the darus (tree logs meant for construction of idols of Lord Jagannath and his siblings) came early we would have finished the construction works two to three days earlier. Secondly, the daitapatis had selected the darus keeping their vested interests in mind. They had selected bigger darus without caring for the age of the trees so that they could sell and earn more. The condition of all the four darus was subpar and so it took us more time to sculpt the idols,” Krushna Chandra Maharana said.
“The daitapatis had selected darus after taking money from villagers so they are majorly responsible for the debacle,” Maharana added.
However, joint secretary of Daitapati Nijog, Binayak Das Mohapatra refuted the allegations. The daitapatis have welcomed the decision of the temple administration citing that the devotees of Lord Jagannath are very concerned over the fiasco.
“The total time for construction of idols of deities is 10 days but after wasting 1 day, the Maharanas got less time to sculpt the idols, due to which the 'purna ahuti' ritual by Gajapati Maharaj was also delayed by 8 hours. The delay continued to affect all the rituals till the completion of the Brahma Paribartan itself. This apart, after the Brahma Paribartan, senior daitapatis among us also had a bit of an argument which often happens. The entire daitapati community is sorry for the delay which tarnished our image in front of the entire country. We assure not to repeat such mistakes again and hope that Lord Jagannath and the entire community of devotees will forgive us,” Das Mohapatra said.
