Amazon Cooks Up A Storm By Online Sale Of Lord Jagannath’s Prasad

Puri: Taking umbrage at the online sale of Lord Jagannath’s ‘Nirmalya’ (dry maha prasad), a servitor at Srimandir on Monday lodged a complaint against e-commerce giant Amazon at Singhadwar police station here.

In his complaint, Sambhunath Khuntia said that multiple sellers selling Nirmalya of Shree Jagannath Temple have popped up on Amazon’s platform and this has been continuing for many days now without permission from the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA).

“Amazon India is selling products such as Puri Jagannath Temple’s Nirmalya at prices much higher than the Badadanda (Puri Grand Road) rates. The prices of Nirmalya sold online range from Rs 129 to Rs 499, while the same is available at Badadanda at just Rs 10. I have lodged a complaint at Singhadwar police station for necessary action in this regard,” Khuntia said.

“I have also informed the chief administrator the temple to look into the matter,” he added.

Claiming that online sale of Nirmalya violated SJTA stipulations, the servitor said, “Only ‘Suaras’ (temple cooks) are authorised to sell the ‘Nirmalya Mahaprasad’ at the Aruna Stambha of the shrine. Then how was Amazon India able to carry out this business without anyone noticing?”

Notably, Amazon had courted controversy last year for allegedly hurting Hindu sentiments after rugs and toilet seat covers with pictures of Hindu gods were available for sale on its US website. Noida police had also registered a case against the e-commerce giant in this regard.

Earlier, Amazon was criticised by several Sikh bodies for selling doormats, rugs and toilet accessories bearing the image of the highly-revered Golden Temple.