Puri: Opposition BJD and Congress on Friday lashed out at the BJP government in Odisha alleging gross mismanagement of Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath and siblings in Puri.
The opposition parties also alleged that several journalists were injured after being assaulted by police personnel during the car festival in the pilgrim town.
Condemning the incident, Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Bhakta Charan Das claimed that over seven journalists were injured after being assaulted by the police during festivities.
Both Das and BJD media coordinator & spokesperson Lenin Mohanty sought immediate action against the police personnel involved in the incident. They urged Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi to intervene and take appropriate action against the police personnel concerned.
As per sources, the Information and Public Relations (I&PR) Department of the state government had facilitated the visit of altogether 52 working journalists to Puri to cover the Rath Yatra. The I&PR Department arranged an OTDC bus for the journalists and issued special passes to them to cover the event.
After reaching Puri, the journalists were denied permission by the police to reach the designated place on the Grand Road to cover the mega event.
It was alleged that the police allegedly misbehaved with the journalists and even assaulted them even after they produced their passes. A senior journalist reportedly fell down and some others, including a woman, sustained injuries in the incident.
The injured journalists were immediately rushed to a makeshift medical centre near the Grand Road.
On the delay in chariot pulling, Both Das and Mohanty targeted the state government and said the festival should have been properly planned and executed meticulously.
The crowd management was bad and there was a complete chaos, while traffic management was worse, said Mohanty, adding that the Synchronisation was not there between different groups who are responsible for a smooth conduct of Rath Yatra.
The customary works were delayed for no reason and it was difficult to comprehend whom were they waiting for. Lord Balabhadras “Taladhwaja” Rath was wavering from the very start, he said.
Das and Mohanty sought to know as to why there was inordinate delay in the pulling of Lord Jagannath’s chariot ‘Nandighosa’. They demanded a probe into the alleged mismanagement of Rath Yatra.