Odisha: Puri Admn Clears Air On Habisyali Scheme; ‘Arpan Rice’ To Be Auctioned

Puri: Amid apprehensions about continuation of Habisyali Brata Yojana started by the previous BJD regime, Collector Siddharth Shankar Swain confirmed that the district administration will host 2,500 habisyalis for the month-long Kartika brata in Odisha’s Puri town this year.

While the brata is scheduled to begin from October 18, online applications from devotees will be received from the first week of October.

He further said that the district administration will take care of their boarding, food (Mahaprasad), transport to and from Shree Jagannath Temple, evening religious discourses and other brata needs. Doctors will be posted in the town to take care of the health of the elderly women.

Former CM Naveen Patnaik had launched ‘Kartika Habisyali Brata Yojana’ in 2018 to enable poor elderly devotees to observe the holy Kartika brat free of cost in Puri. A seven-storey building was also constructed to accommodate 1,000 habisyalis in the town.

Speaking about ‘arpan rice’, the Collector further stated that at least 10 tonne of those that have become stale and unfit for use in Mahaprasad will be auctioned. The rice will be sold to either to any individual or millers through a tender process. A committee headed by the sub-collector has been formed to look after the tender process for disposal of ‘arpan rice’.

The rice was collected by ‘arpan raths’ during the previous BJD government from devotees across the state and brought to Puri ahead of the inauguration of the Srimandir Parikrama Corridor. It was then decided to use the arpan rice for preparing the mahaprasad for free distribution among devotees.

According to Puri temple’s Suara Mahasuara Nijog secretary Narayan Mahasuara, over 14,000 quintals of rice were collected during the drive and only 4,000 quintals were used. The rest around 10,000 quintals of rice remain unused and bulk of the stock has been damaged and become unfit for use.