Puri Bandh Against ‘Dhadi Darshan’ Tomorrow

Puri: Protesting against the ‘Dhadi’ (queue) darshan for devotees introduced by the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA), the Jagannath Sena has given a 12-hour dawn-to-dusk Puri bandh call on Wednesday.

“The people and devotees of Puri have supported the bandh. The bandh is not politically motivated as the decision of the temple administration has deeply hurt the sentiments of the people. On behalf of the Jagannath Sena, I express my profound gratitude to them for their unstinting support,” said its convener Priyadarshan Patnaik.

Senior servitor Binayak Dasmohapatra, said the people of Puri will wholeheartedly support the bandh call. He requested the people to join the servitors and the Jagannath Sena in large numbers. “We will strongly protest the decision of the temple administration and forcibly barge into the temple through the three other gates tomorrow,” he added.

On the second day of the Dhadi Darshan on Tuesday, irate devotees broke the barricade and forcibly barged into the temple through the Simhadwara (entrance gate).

Talking to mediapersons, Puri Collector, Jyoti Prakash Das said the district and the temple administration will have a day-to-day analysis of the Dhadi darshan. “Some local people have given us feedback on this matter. We will consider their suggestions seriously and take all possible measures to ensure that the darshan of the Lords is hassle-free,” he pointed out.