BHUBANESWAR: There's hope for differently-abled devotees who want to witness the Holy Trinity atop the Ratnasimhasana of Shree Jagannath temple at Puri. Mukti Mandapa - the highest seat of religious scholars of Srimandir - on Thursday came out in support of the demand for access of wheelchair-bound divyang devotees beyond the Lion’s Gate and into the sanctum sanctorum to witness the deities.
“This is possible if all the stakeholders are dedicated to the cause. The temple management can operationalise the existing ramp at the north gate (Uttara Dwara) of the shrine and extend it through Ananda Bazaar till Ghanti Dwara to allow devotees on wheelchair to reach the sanctum sanctorum without much trouble,” working president of Mukti Mandapa Pandit Biswanath Mishra told The New Indian Express.
He said, wooden wheelchairs can be used and volunteers mobilsed just for this purpose. Although a wooden ramp was constructed at the Uttara Dwara of the shrine and wooden wheelchairs procured, they were not put to use and now are lying defunct. Not many divyang devotees were aware of the facilities.
The issue has been lingering for more than a decade with the servitors’ body opposing the idea of allowing wheelchairs but this is the first time the Mukti Mandapa has come out in support of the divyangs. “They are not different from other devotees and the Lords do not discriminate. Offering prayers to the Trinity inside the sanctum sanctorum is their right too,” Mishra said.
He added that since ramp cannot be constructed next to Baisi Pahacha (22 steps) at the main entrance, the north gate can be dedicatedly used to bring in divyang devotees into the temple’s inner sanctorum comfortably instead of being carried physically by their families.
A senior official of SJTA said except the north gate, no other gate has the gradient for setting up ramps. As even the Supreme Court has called for devotees’ facilitation at Srimandir, the SJTA has no objection in setting up ramps but servitors have to agree to it.
A week back, secretary of Sahaya - the Red Cross Centre for Special Children - Mrinalini Padhi had urged Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to allow wheelchair-bound devotees to witness the Trinity on Ratnasimhasana and offer prayers. Padhi had sought opinion of Mukti Mandapa, Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingha Deb, Chattisha Nijog, among others, on the issue.
In another development, the Orissa High Court on Wednesday directed the temple management to take a decision on making Srimandir differently-abled friendly within a month. The court gave the direction while disposing of a contempt petition on a PIL filed by Jitendra Kumar Biswal, a differently-abled social activist of Bargarh.
Prior to Mrinalini and Jeetendra, activist Shruti Mohapatra had also raised the issue. In India, Siddhi Vinayak in Mumbai, Kerala’s Guruvayur Shri Krishna and Tali Maha Shiva temples allow people on wheelchairs. Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam in Andhra facilitates special darshan only for differently-abled devotees.