PURI: The demolition of mutts and structures around Sri Jagannath temple has left thousands of pilgrims, mainly widows and elderly women, in a state of torment. With the holy Kartik month commencing, the stream of devotees in Puri for observing the month-long Kartika Brata rituals at Sri Jagannath temple has been increasing by the passing day. But with the mutts around the temple, which had been their shelter for the duration, no longer in existence, the pilgrims are grappling with the most pressing issue of a roof over their head.
While the annual arrangements by the Government are woefully short of requirement, misinformation among the gullible pilgrims coming from far off rural areas has made things worse. Many seem to have been given to believe that Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has established a mutt providing free accommodation to the pilgrims and are running helter skelter looking for the facility.
On Tuesday, a septuagenarian widow Kausalya, who had come all the way from a village in Ganjam, was seen pleading with a shopkeeper near Mochi Sahi for direction to “Naveen Mutt”. The shopkeeper explained to her that there was no such mutt, pushing her to a state of despondence. On seeing the disappointment on Kausalya’s face, a customer at the shop asked her why she wanted to go to Naveen Mutt. “Isn’t it the place where Naveen Babu (Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik) provides all facilities to devotees coming to Puri to observe Kartika Brata,” she replied innocently.
Kausalya and six other widows used to come to Puri every year and stay at Emar Mutt. With their usual place of stay demolished by the State Government, they didn’t know of any other place to seek refuge.
Kausalya said during their journey in bus, they overheard other passengers talking about the arrangements by the State Government in Puri for devotees. With Emar no more in existence, they believed that the Government has set up Naveen Mutt with the Chief Minister being the Mahant of it.
Like Kausalya and her group, thousands of devotees now find themselves left in the lurch. Till Monday, around 20,000 devotees had come to the abode of Lord Jagannath in trains and buses to observe Kartik Brata. Of them, 3,000 have been accommodated in the Government-run shelter while the rest are facing immense difficulties in finding a roof over their heads.
While many have taken refuge in the houses of their relatives, others in small groups are observing the Brata in rented accommodations and the mutts spared by the bulldozers.
Sources said devotees who had enrolled in the Government list approached the information counters opened at railway station and the bus stand. However, the ignorant ones were found asking locals about the location of the Government facilities.
Kausalya said she didn’t know the enrolment process in Government list. “Since we live in a remote village, we do not know that one has to apply for availing Government facilities,” she said. Taking pity on the women’s plight, one of the customers at the shop led them to a nearby municipality Kalyan Mandap, one of the three centres housing Kartika Brata observers, where they were accommodated by its manager as some beds were still unoccupied.
The Government should have made arrangements to accommodate more devotees in its camp keeping in view the emergent situation in absence of usual shelters, locals said.