BHUBANESWAR: In a bid to resolve the frequent strife between servitor groups of Lingaraj Temple over ownership of rituals, the state government has constituted a two-member committee to review and finalise the Record of Rights (RoR) of the 11th century shrine.
The committee, headed by retired judge of Orissa High Court Durga Prasanna Choudhury with Sanskrit professor Prafulla Kumar Mishra as the member, met for the first time on Tuesday. Choudhury said the committee will interact with all the servitors under various nijogs of the shrine, check their legal documents of rights over rituals and also study the existing scriptures and the precedence as far as rituals are concerned. It will submit a report on reorganisation and preparation of a final RoR to the state government.
The Law department had in May this year directed formation of such a committee in wake of frequent disruptions in rituals of Lord Lingaraj due to disputes between servitor groups. In January this year, Lord Lingaraj had remained hungry for over 24 hours after a dispute erupted between the Mahasuara and Badu servitors over the conduct of the ‘Ghruta Kamala Lagi’ ritual on Makar Sankranti.
Law minister Prithiviraj Harichandan had then announced that the Satwa Lipi (Record of Rights) of the shrine will be reorganised to prevent such disruptions in the future. Urging the servitors to reach out to the temple trust board over any conflict situation, the minister had said that no ritual of Lord Lingaraj can be disrupted over disagreements among them.
The shrine in the absence of a dedicated Act like Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri, is governed by the Odisha Hindu Religious Endowments Act, 1951. Like all other temples under the Endowments, it has a trust board to manage the day-to-day affairs.