SAMBALPUR:THE Hanuman Jayanti Samanwaya Samiti (HJSS) appears to be on a confrontation path once again with the district administration over public display of traditional arms and brandishing of swords during the annual Hanuman Jayanti celebration.
The district administration, which convened a peace and coordination committee meeting on Thursday for the annual event, preferred to remain silent on the contentious issue despite uproar over it in the last two years.The meeting, presided over by Additional District Magistrate Judhistir Nayak, was attended by
Additional SP DR Ray and members of HJSS. All that the members of HJSS assured was the celebration will be peaceful.
General secretary of the body Sudhir Bohidar said the celebration will be grand, complete with display of traditional weapons by Akhadas during the procession.
As per the programme, zone-wise meeting will be held between April 1 and 6, followed by installation of flags in different parts of the city between April 6 and 9. Street corner meetings will follow on April 10 and 11. Bike rallies will be taken out the next day and conclude with a huge procession on Hanuman Jayanti, scheduled to be held on April 14, he added.
This is contrary to the ban the district administration had issued in 2015 on display of traditional arms and wielding of weapons on the grounds that the same was not allowed even during Muharram procession and prohibitory orders had been clamped. However, defying the order, former Sambalpur MLA Jayanarayan Mishra had displayed a sword which led to his arrest and subsequent jail for nine days. A case had been registered against Mishra last year for violating the prohibitory orders as he had wielded a sword.
Talking to mediapersons, the Additional SP said action will be taken against anyone violating law during Hanuman Jayanti procession.