PURI: The Dakhin Parswa mutt, close to the South Gate of Sri Jagannath temple, has emerged a sore point for the district administration with Mahant Srinivas Ramanuj Das raising objections to its demolition. Even as Collector Balwant Singh on Saturday assured the Mahant Srinivas Ramanuj Das that small temples, gaadi and his room would not be demolished, the latter sought it in writing.
Srinivas, who along with members of Odisha Heritage Conservation Council met the Collector, said he was asked to vacate the mutt. But, the Collector refused to give a written assurance that the temples, gaadi and his room would not be demolished. Instead, the Collector asked him to give in writing that the mutt be demolished on the ground that its building is unsafe.
Tha Mahant said, he demanded a written assurance as earlier in 2006 and 2015, the then collectors Suresh Chandra Mahapatra and Aravind Agarwal had not kept their promises when some portions of the mutt was demolished.
The Dakhin Parswa mutt is the largest in terms of endowment. The mutt was founded by disciples of Ramanujacharya around seven hundred years back.
According to Srinivas, before the Estate Abolition Act came into force, the mutt was spread over 40,000 acres. Now, the total area under the mutt has been reduced to 11,000 acre, most of which now in possession of individuals.
The mutt has been fighting cases to get possession of the property. Though most of its 60 room building is made of stone walls, the roof is in a dilapidated state. The Astadhatu statue of Ramanujacharya along with Nrusingh, Patitapaban and Laxminarayan are worshipped in a small temple in the building. This apart, the mutt also has a gaadi and rahas room.
The mutt provides ‘karpallav’, a special flower bunch to the 12th century shrine round the year. The flowers are used for rituals of the deities at the temple before they go to bed. During Rath Yatra, it conducts special rituals called ‘panti bhog’. Besides, it serves Mahadei bhog in Sakal dhup (morning offering) throughout the year.