Dhenkanal/Berhampur/Jeypore : Maha Shivaratri was celebrated with deep devotion across the state on Sunday as lakhs of devotees thronged major Shaivite shrines to offer puja. At Kapilash temple in Dhenkanal, devotees from across the state offered prayers to Lord Chandrasekhar on the occasion. Deputy chief minister Pravati Parida also visited the shrine and performed puja at around 9.30 am.
Sources said rituals were briefly affected in the morning after sevayats stopped work for over two hours, alleging that some among them were denied entry despite holding valid passes issued by the Odisha Endowment department. In protest, sevayats staged protest near the Jagannath temple.
The situation was resolved following the intervention of Dhenkanal sub-collector Bibhudha Mahapatra, after which rituals resumed as normal. Collector Asish Ishwar Patil and SP Abhinav Sonkar camped at the site to supervise arrangements.
About 11 platoons of police force were deployed. Similarly, the Gupteswar temple in Koraput district witnessed a massive influx of devotees, with over one lakh pilgrims participating in the annual yatra. Devotees from Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh also attended in large numbers with many crossing a temporary bamboo bridge over Sabari river.
Collector Manoj Satyawan Mahajan, sub-collector A Sasya Reddy and SP Rohit Verma oversaw arrangements. Teams of Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force and fire services were deployed. Traffic on the Siribeda– Kandilibeda road was made one - way for crowd management. Maha Shivaratri was also observed on a grand scale at Mahendragiri in Gajapati district on Saturday.
Thousands of devotees from Odisha and Andhra Pradesh climbed the sacred hill to offer prayers. Devotees observed day-long fast and participated in special pujas. The Mahadeepa ceremony across the three shrines, Bhima temple, Arjuna temple and Jagannath temple, remained the main highlight. Notably, in Mahendragiri, the festival is traditionally celebrated a day earlier than in other places.