TV
Servitors of Puri Srimandir have expressed concerns over the poor condition of the rice collected through Arpana Rath during the tenure of the previous BJD government.
As per the servitors of the ‘Suara Mahasuara Nijoga’, large quantities of Arpana rice have been attacked by pests. Moreover, it is not possible to offer 10,000 quintals of rice as Prasad before Lord Jagannath.
As per reports, the servitors of ‘Suara Mahasuara Nijoga’ met the Chief Administrator of Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) on Thursday and held discussions to distribute the rice to the poor people.
During the inauguration of the Srimandir Parikrama project, the rice was collected through the Arpana Rath that moved door to door. However, it was carelessly kept at different places on the pretext of use in Srimandir.
Following protests from different quarters, the temple administration took the rice and gave it to ‘Suara Mahasuara Nijoga’ to prepare Prasad from it and distribute it among the devotees. Subsequently, the ‘Suara Mahasuara Nijoga’ took 4,000 quintals of rice out of the total 14,000 quintals.
However, only 3,000 quintals of rice have been used so far to prepare prasad and distribute it among the devotees. The rest amount of rice is in poor condition due to pest attack. Hence, the servitors have requested the Chief Administrator of SJTA to distribute the remaining rice among poor people.
“The Arpana rice is in poor condition and not in a state to offer as Prasad to Lord Jagannath. Hence, discussions have been held with the temple administration to distribute the remaining amount of rice to the poor people and NGOs,” said a senior servitor of the Suara Mahasuara Nijoga.
