PURI/BHUBANESWAR: A tourist from Balasore was injured in an attack by a group of unidentified miscreants near Jagannath Ballav Mutt here on Tuesday night. The victim, Pramod Jena, and his friends had come to the pilgrim town for a darshan of the Trinity. They parked their vehicle in Jagannath Ballav parking area and left for the temple to offer prayers.
On returning around 9.30 pm, Jena was attacked by three men and robbed of his mobile phone and purse. When Pramod resisted them, the miscreants attacked him with a dagger and left him at the spot in a pool of blood. Locals and officers of Town Police Station rushed Pramod to District Headquarters Hospital, where the doctor referred him to SCB Medical College and Hospital, Cuttack. Police registered a criminal case and detained one youth in this connection.
Jagannath Ballav parking lot is managed jointly by Puri Municipality, Jagannath Ballav Mutt and police. The earnings from the parking area is distributed among the three bodies at an agreed percentage. Security in the Mutt, as well as the area, has gone for a toss with incidents of loot being reported frequently. On several occasion, miscreants broke the window panes and escaped with valuables from the Mutt rooms but no significant steps have been taken to curb the menace.
Taking the rising crimes in Pilgrim Town and global tourist destination seriously, the Hotel and Restaurant Association of Odisha (HRAO) on Wednesday urged the State Government to enhance security for the visitors and take adequate steps for improving the law and order situation.The association informed district Collector and Superintendent of Police about the attack and sought steps to check such incidents in the future.
Chairman of HRAO and member, Advisory Committee, State Tourism, JK Mohanty said, “Puri receives the highest number of tourists from within the country and outside throughout the year. However, most of the time they face ill-treatment inside the temple and snatching on the beach by local miscreants which projects a negative image of the town and State in the global market.”
“Such incidents are now on the rise in the tourist capital of Odisha and if proper law and order situation is not maintained, tourist inflow to the State will certainly decrease,” Mohanty feared.He appealed to the State Government to immediately intervene in the matter and issue necessary directions to Puri Collector and SP to maintain law and order situation and step up security for the tourists and visitors. “More action from Tourist Police is also required,” Mohanty said.