Odisha Law Minister Warns Of Stern Action Over Ritual Disruption In Bhubaneswar Lingaraj Temple

Bhubaneswar: Voicing concern over stalling of rituals at Lingaraj Temple in Bhubaneswar following dispute among servitors, Odisha Law Minister Prithviraj Harichandan on Wednesday warned that the government will take stern action if such disruption occurs again.

Terming the incident unfortunate, the Minister said any form of disruption of services and rituals in the temple is unacceptable.

As Lord Lingaraj remained hungry for the third day following disruption of rituals at the temple, a high-level meeting was held at the residence of the Harichandan. The meeting was attended among others by the Law Secretary, Endowment Commissioner, and Khurdha District Collector.

Another round of meeting is slated to be held later in the day as the issue was yet to be resolved.

It may be noted that Mahasuara and Badu servitors stopped the Makar Sankranti rituals at the temple on Monday evening over a dispute as to which group would conduct the ‘Ghruta Kamala’ ritual. Rituals were stalled after the deity was taken to the Makara Mandap outside the sanctum sanctorum of the temple on Monday evening.

The Minister said another meeting has been called by the Temple Trust Board to address the issue, and the board will request the servitors to immediately resume the rituals. The Trust Board will also take a firm decision to prevent such disruptions in the future.

The government would like to make it clear that there should be no disruption in the rituals until the reorganisation of the Record of Rights, the Minister said. The situation will return to normal soon. The Trust Board meeting will ensure that the rituals resume smoothly, he said.

The next meeting will be held in the presence of the ‘Brahmana Nijogs’ as they were absent during the high-level meeting.

The conflict among the servitors has triggered outrage among devotees who condemned the act and demanded stringent action against those responsible for the disruption of rituals.