KORAPUT: The Jagannath Devotional Committee (JDC) of Sabar Srikhetra in Koraput has demanded the rolling of three chariots instead of one in the upcoming Ratha Yatra. In a memorandum to the Collector and president of the TMC, the members demanded rolling of three chariots - that of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra - in the annual Car festival.
Questioning the move of the temple management committee (TMC) to roll a single chariot, the agitators said there were no representatives from the district administration when the decision was taken in a meeting early this month. Though the Collector is the president of the TMC, the committee kept the administration in dark, they said.
Sources said, the vice-chairperson of the TMC, who presided over the meeting, was also not in favour of rolling a single chariot in Ratha Yatra. It is even being alleged that senior members are being pressurised by the new members of the committee.
In 2019, a new tradition to roll the three chariots was started which gained widespread acceptance from people of undivided Koraput and thousands of devotees thronged from states like Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. But the resolution of the new committee to roll a single chariot as earlier, has disappointed them. If the TMC does not reconsider its decision, the JDC will intensify the dharna, JDC convenor Shakti Panda said.
Apart from this, JDC members claimed that the new committee is responsible for gross irregularities in managing the temple administration. The new committee is ignoring performance of the daily rituals of other shrines in the complex.
The new guest house “Maitri” is being constructed without approval of the management while over 60 per cent existing temple guest house rooms of Athithi Bhawan, Yatri Nivas and Santi Nivas are lying vacant. Over Rs 10 lakh is being spent for Maitri, which at this juncture, is unnecessary, Panda pointed out.
Contacted, TMC secretary Jagabandhu Samal said the decision to roll out a single chariot has not been finalised yet.