BHUBANESWAR:Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Sunday assured the servitors of Sri Jagannath temple at Puri of presenting their grievances before the Supreme Court which had recently advised the State Government to go for reforms in the management of day-to-day affairs of the 12th century shrine.
A delegation of 22 servitors from the temple including president of Singhari Nijog, Ramchandra Singhari, met the Chief Minister at his residence, Naveen Nivas, here and requested him to devise a solution which can protect the interests of both servitors and devotees.
Highly placed sources told ‘The Express’ that the CM gave a patient hearing to the demands of the servitors and suggested them to submit those in writing to the three-member committee formed by the State Government to analyse the Supreme Court directive.
“The CM said when the amicus curiae appointed by the Supreme Court will visit the temple after Rath Yatra, he would be apprised of the grievances. The issues can be amicably settled, the CM assured the servitors besides urging them to cooperate with the administration for the Rath Yatra to pass off peacefully,” the sources said.
Puri MP Pinaki Mishra and Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Maheswar Mohanty were present during the discussion.“The apex court’s directive is subject to further order as it is not final verdict. A three-member committee led by Chief Administrator of the Sri Jagnnath Temple Administration has already been constituted to look into the matter. The committee will discuss with all stakeholders including Shankaracharya and Gajapati Maharaja,” Mishra told reporters after the meeting.
Stating that Jagannath temple has a unique system and servitor engagement is done through hereditary process, Mishra said the matter has not been properly presented before the court.“Other temples have deities or idols but we worship living Gods at Puri. It can not be compared with other temples,” he said.
The Supreme Court had taken a serious note of alleged exploitation of devotees by ‘sevaks’ at the
Jagannath temple and passed a slew of directions to prevent such practices and mismanagement. ‘
Citing that it is of prime importance to extend hassle-free visit to all devotees, the court had directed the Odisha Government to study the management systems of other important shrines in the country and follow accordingly.
The Singhari Nijog president said the servitors are against entry of non-Hindus to the temple and abolition of hereditary system of service. “We have apprised all the issues to the Chief Minister,” Singhari said.