PURI: The mortal remains of Bhikari Bal were consigned to flames at Swargadwar on Wednesday evening. His son Ashok Kumar Bal performed the last rites.
The State government gave a guard of honour while the Jagannath temple administration provided the sacred ‘khandua’. Bal, an ardent devotee of Lord Jagannath, was assigned the sacred fire from the temple, popularly called ‘Vaishnavagni’, a rare privilege accorded to non-servitors for their invaluable service to Jagannath cult.
District Magistrate Fakir Charan Satpathy and SP Sanjay Kumar were present at the cremation.
Chairperson of the Puri civic body S Pradhan, Nimapara MLA Sameer Dash, officials of State Culture Department and scores of his fans assembled at the Swargadwar.