Puri Eviction Drive: Servitor Body Seeks Proper Rehab

Puri: Daitapati Nijog, a body of servitors at the Jagannath temple, on Friday urged the Odisha government to ensure proper rehabilitation of the servitors whose houses are to be demolished as part of the ongoing eviction drive in Puri.

Daitapati Nijog secretary Durga Charan Dasmahapatra told the media that the state government should evict the servitors with their consent instead of inflicting pain on them.

“There are a number of houses of the servitors that are within 75-metre radius of the temple. Most of these servitors are engaged in the daily and special rituals of the Lords. As the government has decided to demolish their houses, it should take necessary steps to rehabilitate them in the nearby areas of the temple as relocating these servitors at a far-off place will severely affect the timely conduct of the rituals. Keeping this in view, the affected servitors and their families should be rehabilitated in the mutts that are safe,” he said.

Dasmahapatra also urged the government to give priority to the early rehabilitation of the servitors whose houses were earmarked for demolition.