BHUBANESWAR: Rituals at the Lingaraj temple were suspended and the presiding deity had to remain without food on Wednesday owing to an agitation by Samartha Nijog servitors.
After ‘abakasha’, ‘rosha homa’, ‘Damodar’ besha of Lord Lingaraj, the rituals had to be stopped as the Samartha Nijog servitors refused to provide raw materials for cooking of the ‘prasad’ in the shrine.
They demanded that the BMC allow them to set up shops outside the Lingaraj temple to sell flowers and other puja paraphernalia.
Sources said the Samartha Nijog members, who sell lamps, flowers and other things required for worshipping Lord Lingaraj, had been provided seven to eight shops inside the temple premises to do business.
However, over a period of time, some of the members had set up shops in the area outside the shrine which has been beautified under the Ekamra Kshetra development. Since the shops had been illegally set up, BMC had cleared them a fortnight back.
Protesting the eviction, the servitors had threatened to stop their ‘pali’ of providing raw materials for cooking ‘prasad’ for the deity. Accordingly, after the morning rituals were over on the day, they refused to provide the raw materials due to which ‘prasad’ could not be cooked.