BHUBANESWAR: Known for its grand and lavish pandals, Jharpada will witness a divided Durga Puja celebration this year due to an internal rift, that has split the organisers into two factions.
Owing to the dispute, the existing puja mandap has been prohibited for celebrations under section 163 of the BNS. Authorities have allowed both groups to hold the puja in two separate pandals until the matter is resolved at appropriate level.
The Jharpada Durga Puja Samiti had been organising the festival at the puja Mandap on Jail Road square since the last 14 years. However, disagreements over the Samiti’s management surfaced last year, following which Section 163 was imposed.
While one faction accuses a group led by local BJP leader Jagannath Pradhan of politicising the puja, the rival side blames a coterie led by BJD corporator Sridhar Jena for monopolising control of the puja committee and attempting to oust founding members.
As both factions asserted their right to organise the puja at the site, the matter escalated into a legal battle. Complying with an order from the Orissa HC, the Court of Additional DCP-cum-Executive Magistrate, Bhubaneswar, passed a directive on August 27, allowing the two groups, Jharpada Durga Puja Committee and Jharpada Welfare Association, to hold pujas at separate locations, excluding the existing puja mandap, at their own risk and with proper permissions.
However, both groups have planned to organise puja under the Jharpada Durga Puja Samiti banner at two different venues. The Pradhan-led group is holding puja at Jharpada Melana Ground, while the Jena-led group is organising it near Ganesh Mandap.
“Pradhan served as secretary of the Samiti for three years from 2011, but resigned due to his political engagements in 2014. He failed to attend general body meetings and did not pay his membership fees until 2018, prompting the committee to remove him as per the by-laws. The matter could have been resolved if he had not approached the ADM with false accusations,” said Sridhar Jena, convenor of the existing Samiti.
Pradhan, however, refuted the allegations, stating, “A large number of founding members, including myself, were unfairly removed, even though the by-law doesn’t allow it. In 2024, we were assured that the office-bearer body would be revived with everyone’s consent, but this did not happen when some villagers tried to join. Consequently, the committee decided to appoint new office-bearers.”