Puri Bandh Turns Violent As Mob Ransacks SJTA Office

Puri: The 12-hour dawn-to-dusk bandh call given by Jagannath Sena in protest against the ‘dhadi’ (queue) darshan of the devotees turned violent on Wednesday as the irate mob barged into the Jagannath Temple, uprooted the barricades erected at the Baisi Pahacha and ransacked the office of Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA).

The rampaging mob set afire a temporary shed near the Simhadwara police station. Later, they went to the house of the Puri MLA and minister Maheswar Mohanty and ransacked the household articles. Besides, they also pelted the SP office with stones.

The peaceful agitation by the activists of Jagannath Sena turned violent after the police picked up the convener Priyadarshan Patnaik from his house earlier in the day.

“Ask the police why they have arrested me. I am ready to die for Lord Jagannath. The protests you have witnessed today is just the beginning. We will intensify our agitation further,” Patnaik told the mediapersons.

The activists of Jagannath Sena, accompanied by thousands of locals, staged a protest demonstration in front of the Town Police Station demanding the immediate release of Patnaik.

The agitators later blocked the Bada Danda (Grand Road) by burning tyres at several places.

“Such is the audacity of the temple administration that it went to the extent of removing Baishi Pahacha (22 stairs) inside the temple to put up barricades. The Baisi Pahacha is named after the Baisi Goddesses. We have uprooted the barricades and demand the temple administration to immediately restore the Baichi Pahacha to its original shape,” said an angry protestor.

All trading establishments and educational institutions remained closed in response to the bandh call.

Apart from protesting against the ‘dhadi darshan’, the outfit had also given the bandh call on other issues like attack on the journalists by the local police at a filling station, missing of Ratna Bhandar keys and the decision of the SJTA not to make the report of the Brahma Parivartan fiasco public.

The Jagannath Sena activists on Tuesday had taken out a protest rally in the town and burnt the banner, featuring the photographs of private secretary to the Chief Minister V K Pandian, SJTA chief administrator Pradipta Mohapatra and former SJTA chief administrator Suresh Chandra Mohapatra.

When asked about the incident, the SJTA chief administrator said the temple administration had implemented ‘dhadi darshan’ on an experimental basis. “With locals and the servitors opposing the queue system, the decision will be reviewed and arrangements made to facilitate smooth darshan of the Lords,” he added.