Lord Lingaraj Stays Hungry For 3rd Day Amid Dispute Between Servitor Groups In Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar: Rituals continued to be stalled at the Lingaraj Temple in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday for the third day in a row as the ongoing dispute between servitor groups remained unresolved.

Sources said that traditional religious rituals have not been performed at the temple since Monday evening due to the ongoing row. While daily rituals remained suspended, ‘Bhoga’ has not been offered to Lord Lingaraj during the period.

The row cropped up following a dispute between the Badu Nijog and Brahmana Nijog of the temple and efforts to resolve the deadlock failed to yield any positive result.

Meanwhile, the Brahmana Nijog, an assembly of temple priests, has urgently convened a meeting with the temple’s trustee board to find a long-term resolution to the stand-off and have appealed to the Law Minister Prithviraj Harichandan for his intervention.

The impasse following differences between the chief servitor and the Brahmana Nijog has led to a complete halt in the conduct of rituals for the deity in the shrine.

While efforts are on to end the deadlock, the Brahmana Nijog has underlined the need for immediate action by the authorities to uphold the sanctity and daily functions of the temple.

The temple administration has assured devotees that efforts are underway to ensure resumption of rituals at the earliest.