Bhubaneswar: Agitation by Samartha Nijog servitors at Lingaraj Temple in Odisha’s Bhubaneswar disrupted rituals for the second consecutive day during the holy month of Kartika, depriving devotees and Habisyalis of Lord’s prasad on Thursday.
The dispute pertains to shops illegally set up outside the shrine which has been beautified under the Ekamra Kshetra development, which were cleared by the BMC a fortnight back.
According to sources, Samartha Nijog members, who sell flowers and other puja paraphernalia, were provided seven to eight shops inside the temple premises to do business. However, some of the members also set up shops illegally in the area outside the shrine.
Protesting against the eviction, the Samartha Nijog servitors refused to provide raw materials for cooking of the ‘prasad’ in the shrine and the rituals had to be stopped after ‘abakasha’, ‘rosha homa’, ‘Damodar’ besha of Lord Lingaraj. Following which, the presiding deity had to remain without food on Wednesday.
Expressing concern over the deadlock, temple Trustee and Congress leader Suresh Routray said, “The month of Kartika is sacred. Devotees and Habisyalis come here to partake in the Lord’s prasad. The suspension of rituals is unacceptable.”
