Servitors Oppose Proposal For Online Darshan Of Deities At Puri Jagannath Temple

Puri: Servitors have opposed a proposal to arrange online darshan of the Trinity at the Jagannath temple here.

The proposal was placed by temple managing committee member Ramachandra Dasmahapatra during a virtual conference on Friday to seek views on the reopening of Srimandir for devotees.

The conference was chaired by the Chief Administrator of Sri Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA), Dr Krishan Kumar, and attended by business associations, lawyers, academicians and senior servitors, the New Indian Express reported.

Opposing any plans to install CCTV cameras and use of mobile phones in the temple to enable devotees to have darshan of the deities from outside, senior servitor Rajat Kumar Pratihary said many secret services are performed daily in the sanctum sanctorum like Banaklaagi, puja, offering of bhog and other rituals that outsiders should not witness. It would be encroachment of privacy of the deities, he added.

Members of the servitor bodies also voiced their opposition to reopening of the shrine anytime soon in view of the COVID-19 situation. However, business associations pleaded to open the temple at the earliest with COVID-19 guidelines, citing their worsening economic condition.