Naveen Patnaik Writes To Odisha CM Over Adapa Mandap Bije Mess In Puri, Seeks Preventive Steps

Bhubaneswar: Voicing concern over the mishap during Adapa Mandap Bije ritual of the deities of Puri Jagannath Temple, BJD president and Leader of Opposition (LoP) Naveen Patnaik on Thursday urged Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi to take concrete steps to prevent its recurrence.

In a letter to Majhi, the former Chief Minister claimed that such incident had not taken place in the history of Jagannath Temple and concrete steps must be taken to ensure that such incident does not occur in future.

Describing Lord Jagannath as the symbol of Odia ‘Asmita’ (pride), Naveen said the Lord is the identity and pride of the people of Odisha. Lakhs of devotees from across the world throng the pilgrim town of Puri to witness the famous Rath Yatra of the Lords, he said.

This apart, crores of people also watch the proceedings during the annual festival on television and different social media platforms, the ex-CM said.

“The mishap that took place during the Adapa Mandap Bije ritual has pained the devotees. I am also deeply saddened over the incident,” Naveen said in his letter, copy of which was released to media.

Terming the mishap as a sensitive issue, the BJD supremo said some Ministers have made some light and non-serious remarks about the incident which has hurt the sentiments of crores of devotees.

It may be noted that Lord Balabhadra’s idol slipped and fell on ‘charamala’ (makeshift ladder) while being taken by the servitors to the Adapa Mandap inside Gundicha Temple in ‘Pahandi’ procession on July 9 night. Several servitors were injured in the mishap.

However, Deputy Chief Minister Pravati Parida and Law Minister Prithviraj Harichandan had reportedly described the incident as a ‘minor’ mishap. They also said that the incident was perhaps the Lord’s ‘divine act.’