PURI: Devotees will not be witness to Nagarjuna Besha of the Trinity in Sri Jagannath temple this year.
With deities in temples of Odisha still out of sight for devotees, the Besha scheduled on November 27 will be organised only with participation of servitors and temple officials. There will be no live telecast of the event as well.
Chief administrator of Sri Jagannath Temple, Dr Krishan Kumar said, the decision was taken in meeting between temple and district administrations and Chhatisha Nijog, the apex body of servitors, on Tuesday.
Dr Kumar said the servitors assured to cooperate with the administration for smooth conduct of the ritual, which is being held after a gap of 26 years. The proposal to telecast the ritual online was dismissed at the meeting on the ground that it is against tradition.
He said a three-layer security would be put around the temple for the ritual. Nobody except servitors and temples officials on duty would be allowed into the shrine. The costume and ornaments of the deities would be brought to the temple from Harchandi Sahi amid tight security by the servitors by 2 am on Thursday following which the temple doors would be opened. The proposal to decorate the ‘Patitapaban’ was rejected at the meeting as there is neither such precedent nor allowed under the temple record of rights, he added.
Collector Balwant Singh said any person trying to enter the temple impersonating as a servitor during the conduct of the ritual would be prosecuted. He said the decision to impose section 144 of CrPC around the shrine would be taken after assessing the situation on the day of the ritual.
Meanwhile, the administration is set to formulate a standard opening procedure for reopening of temple, which is planned for the third week of December. The SOP would include regulation of devotees, number of persons to be allowed into the shrine in batches and their screening. Singh said the number of Covid-19 cases went up in some states where religious institutions were opened for people. Hence, every aspect is being considered before a decision is taken.