Odisha Govt Mulls Free ‘Mahaprasad’ For Devotees Visiting Puri Jagannath Temple

Puri/Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government is considering free distribution of ‘Mahaprasad’ among devotees, visiting Shree Jagannath Temple in Odisha’s pilgrim town of Puri for the darshan of sibling deities.

“Arrangements will be made for distributing ‘Abhada’ for free among 1-1.5 lakh devotees every day and accordingly discussions are being held with possible donors,” Law Minister Prithiraj Harichandan told reporters.

Though the Minister did not specify the date on which the service is expected to start, he said that steps will be taken to ensure that it does not stop half-way through.

Harichandan further informed that an interpretation centre (Bhyakhyana Kendra) will be set up in Puri, where all information about various rituals of 12th-century shrine and the Jagannath culture will be provided. “Discussions are on and a blueprint will be prepared very soon,” he while attending Ratha Seva Sammana-2024 programme in Puri on Saturday.

The help of artificial intelligence (AI) will be taken to streamline movement of devotees into the temple, he added.

Suara Mahasuara Nijog president Padmanabha Mahasuara has welcomed the proposed plan of the government. “Such an initiative had begun first in 2017 when a limited quantity of Mahaprasad was distributed among the devotees. However, it was discontinued later,” he said.

He stress the need for proper allocation of funds to keep it running for a long time. “Prasad is distributed for free at several shrines in South India and devotees here will be very happy if they can leave the temple premises with ‘Mahaprasad’ after having a hassle-free darshan of the sibling deities,” he added.