PURI: Prices of different Mahaprasad items would be fixed soon and rate charts will be put up in the Jagannath temple and its Anand Bazaar, said P K Mohapatra, the chief administrator of Sri Jagannath Temple Authority (SJTA). Speaking to mediapersons after attending a meeting of SJTA and members of Suar Mahasuar Nijog (cooks and chief cooks) on Tuesday, he said a help desk and a complaint desk will be opened in Anand Bazaar to address complaints of the devotees regarding sale of Mahaprasad and guide them to the dining area.
The help desk would be manned jointly by an officer of the temple and a member of the Suar Mahasuar Nijog while the complaint desk would be manned by a police officer and a representative of the servitors’ body, Mohapatra added.
It was resolved to ascertain the exact cost of preparing Mahaprasad (bhog meant for sale in Anand Bazaar) items under the supervision of Deula Karan (temple servitor) and temple supervisor. After calculating the profit, the final rate would be decided. The Mahaprasad will be sold in earthen pots and prices would be fixed per pot. No unauthorised person will be allowed to sell Mahaprasad in Anand Bazaar and entry of hawkers into the temple market would be banned.
The State Government’s decision to provide Mahaprasad to 2,500 devotees observing month-long Kartik Brata was also discussed in the meeting, which was attended by Ananta Tiadi, SJTA member; Krushna Chandra Samatray, secretary of Suar Mahasuar Nijog; and its members, Baidyanath Mahasuar and Kalia Padhiary.
The Chief Administrator presided over the meeting. In the wake of the Supreme Court judgment regarding Jagannath temple affairs, the Sri Jagannath Temple Administration has started the exercise to implement a slew of directions which include hassle-free darshan, ending hereditary status of servitors, availability of Mahaprasad to devotees, stopping collection of ‘dakshina’ and maintaining law and order inside the temple.