Third Eye Vigil on Pilgrim Town, Jagannath Puri

By Express News Service 

26th February 2015 

PURI: A five-layer security cover would be thrown over Puri for the ensuing Nabakalebar and Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath and his siblings.

This was decided at a meeting held to review special security arrangements for the month-long festival on Wednesday, which was presided over by Additional Chief Secretary, Aditya Padhi.

The Grand Road, venue of the Rath Yatra, other main roads, parking lots, pilgrim shelters, bus terminals and the railway station, would be put under close circuit camera (CCTV) surveillance. As many as 350 close circuit cameras (CCTVs) would be installed at the designated places by the State Police Housing Corporation before April.

A central security unit would be opened for the grand fete that would be equipped with three bullet proof four-wheelers, satellite phones, besides sophisticated arms and ammunitions.

For effective crowd management, 30 large digital screens will be installed at various points of the city and a traffic control unit would operate from a special facility at the Kumbharpara police station complex.

Prior to the festival, the four marine police stations at Astarang, Ramchandi, Chakratirth and Arakhkuda would be made fully operational with all state-of-art gadgets and adequate staff. Two interceptor boats would patrol the Puri coastline. It was decided at the meeting that 16 unsafe buildings along the Grand Road will either be demolished or sealed. The Ministry of Civil Aviation would also be approached seeking permission to declare the temple air space as no-flying zone for one month.

Among others, District Magistrate Aravind Agarwal, DGP Sanjeev Marik, Revenue Divisional Commissioner Bikash Chandra Mahapatra, SP Asish Kumar Singh, Superintending engineer of Archaeological Survey of India (Bhubaneswar circle) Bhuban Bikram participated.

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‘Abhada sale only in Ananda Bazar in Odisha’s Jagannath Temple’

Odisha Sun Times Bureau

Puri, Feb 19: 

Keeping the massive rush of devotees during Nabakalebara in Odisha’s Puri town scheduled in June this year, in mind, the Shri Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) has decided to stop sale of ‘abhada’ (cooked food) for the Lords inside the temple premises.

A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting convened by the SJTA here on Saturday following the directive of the Odisha High Court.

The court had issued the directive after hearing a PIL in which the petitioner had alleged that the devotees were facing trouble inside the temple due to sale of abhada in and around Anand Bazar inside the temple premises.

The meeting presided over by the SJTA chief administrator and RDC Bikash Chandra Mohapatra, was attended by the members of the Suara and Mahasuar Nijog, Puri collector Arvind Agrawal and SP Ashish Kumar Singh.

As per the decision taken at the meeting, the supakaras (sellers of abhada and other dry foods and sweets) would henceforth sell the abhada from inside their shops at Anand Bazar.

It was also decided that the Supakaras will have to renew the registration of their shops inside Anand Bazar by February 15 by giving details of their sale failing which the Temple administration would cancel their lease and shops would be allotted to the bidders through tender.

Besides, the meeting also decided to stop sale of ‘tanka torani’ (watered rice) inside the temple. “We have requested the Suara Mahasuar Nijog to cooperate the temple administration in identifying the non-servitors who would not be allowed to sale ‘abhada’ inside the temple.

“The proposal to sell ‘abhada’ from the shops inside Anand Bazar is right. But as the sale was going on outside the area of Anand Bazar, we had apprised the temple authorities of the problem and requested them to take a decision in this regard, said Bhagaban Suara, president of the Nijog.

According to Krushna Chandra Mohapatra, treasurer of the Nijog, the original area of Anand Bazar has been squeezed due to construction of permanent structures. “If these structures are removed, we would accommodate the sellers inside the Bazar premises so that the periphery area would remain clean and open,” 

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Odisha DGP reviews crowd control arrangements for Nabakalebara

Odisha Sun Times Bureau

Puri, Feb 20:

Odisha DGP Sanjeev Marik has warned that unless works like digging of roads, completion of sewerage works, works on the national highway and bridges and railway projects are completed by the end of March or at least before April 15, preparations by the police for the Nabakalebar Yatra cannot take off and the different measures planned by it for crowd control won’t deliver desired results.

The DGP made the statement to the media Thursday after holding a review meeting here on preparations for the Nabakalebar Yatra.

Marik said unless roads are repaired in time, it would be difficult to know the lacunae in the pre-preparation phase. Especially, if construction work on the Puri-Bhubaneswar national highway, construction of bridges at Samjajpur, Satyabadi, Malatipatpur, work on the 12-km long Puri-Mangalaghat and the 8 km long Malatipatpur-Konark marine drive bypass are not completed within proper time, preparations and planning for parking of vehicles and vehicle routing cannot be done. The top cop apprehended that unless roads are widened, it could lead to critical traffic jams.

The DGP informed that steps are being taken to make robust police arrangements for preventing stampedes. Every year, improvements are being made in the security arrangements, he said adding that security inside the temple premises is being tightened using ultra-modern systems.

“In view of the ever increasing crowd and call of the hour, changes are being made in the security arrangements every year, Marik said. Accordingly, several changes will be made in the security arrangements for the Nabakalebar Yatra,” he said.

Baggage scanners will be installed at entry points to the Shree Mandir. Moreover, control rooms will be set up for crowd control and monitoring during Rath Yatra, said the top cop elaborating on security measures planned for the forthcoming Nabakalebar Yatra.

Marik said metal detectors will be used while police will keep a close vigil at the railway station, bus stands, crowded squares. CCTV cameras will be used for monitoring movements of one and all, he added.

He said arranging parking for tourist buses, local permit buses, four wheelers and two wheelers was the biggest challenge and therefore parking places is being given top most priority.

The DGP Thursday held a review meeting on preparations for Nabakalebar with the RDC (central), district collector, superintendent of police and senior officers of different departments.

The top cop visited different places to gather first hand information about proposed parking, roads mentioned in the route charts and traffic routes.

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Rs 40 lakh for free transport of Nabakalebara pilgrims

Debabrata Mohapatra, TNN | Feb 17, 2015

BHUBANESWAR: The state government has decided to offer free transport service to pilgrims from the newly constructed bus terminus at Malatipatpur to Puri during the Nabakalebara festival scheduled in July. The government on Monday made a budgetary provision of Rs 40 lakh for the free transport service. 

The bus terminus is being constructed at a cost of Rs 65 crore along the Bhubaneswar-Puri national highway at Malatipatpur, about six kilometers from Puri. About 600 buses can be parked at a time at the terminal, which is spread over 10 acres of land and faces Malatipatpur railway station. 

Though the government has made the budgetary allocation, it has not yet created any foolproof blueprint for the 'type' of transport service. 

"We will soon decide whether we will press into service buses or mini-buses or jeeps," said a district officer. "Since Puri will be jam-packed during Nabakalebara, we may go for small vehicles to avoid traffic congestion. The free transportation is meant for Nabakalebara only," the officer said. 

The pilgrims will be dropped at Atharanala, one of the entrances of Puri, from where they will have to walk till Jagannath Temple on Grand Road. "Since the distance between Atharanala and Jagannath Temple is only around 1.5 km, pilgrims will not face much inconvenience," the officer added. 

The district administration said two temporary bus stands are being built at Talabania and Manglaghat, situated on the outskirts of two separate entry points to Puri. "Buses coming from Konark will park the vehicles at Talabania. Vehicles from Brahmagiri will be parked at Mangalaghat," the officer said. 

Four-wheelers are likely to face trouble as the district administration has not yet identified parking lots for them. "There is no parking space inside the town. We are looking for parking lots on the outskirts," the officer said. 

Wary of poor road connectivity in Puri, the state government has identified seven major roads inside the town for renovation. This apart, three internal roads — Coco Palm to Bidhaba Ashram, Chakratirtha Road and Red Cross Road — have been identified for restoration. 

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Shadow of past stampedes on Nabakalebara in Odisha

Odisha Sun Times Bureau

Every time there is a festival in the offing where a large gathering is expected, the Odisha government is reminded of the stampede that took place inside the Shree Jagannath temple in Puri and the death of devotees in the crowd during the Rath Yatra.

Photo Courtesy: in. reuters.com

Since a huge gathering of devotees is expected in the forthcoming Nabakalebar Yatra of Lord Jagannath, the administration is holding meetings and reviews on a regular basis to ensure security and safety of devotees.

Every time there is a meeting on security and safety aspects of devotees during the grand festival, the Justice PK Mohanty Commission report and Revenue Board report is studied and analyzed.

It may be mentioned here that on November 4, 2006 during panchuka in the holy month of Kartik, six devotees were killed in a stampede inside the Shree Jagannath temple in front of the Pandadwara while the mangala alati of the Lords was on. The government had ordered an inquiry into the incident by Justice PK Mohanty.

Again during the Rath Yatra in 2008, three devotees were killed in a stampede at Kansari Patty in front of the Shree Jagannath temple near the cordon for chariots. The tragic incident occurred right in front of top officers of the state government. The state government ordered a probe by the then Board of Revenue member Santosh Kumar.

Both the reports are of utmost importance in view of the forthcoming Nabakalebara Yatra of the Lords. The Justice PK Mohanty Commission of Inquiry has made several valuable recommendations for avoiding stampedes in the Shree Jagannath temple which include issues like discipline in conduct of rituals, darshan facilities for devotees, crowd control within the temple premises, improvements in the entry and exit routes for devotees, darshan etc. The Commission in its report has suggested certain improvements in the existing practices, especially during mangal alati, sahanamela and parimanika darshan.

On the other hand, the inquiry report by the member Board of Revenue had recommended acquisition of the three mutts in front of the Lions Gate of the Shree Jagannath temple and widening of the place where the chariots are stationed in front of the Lions Gate during the Rath Yatra. The Board of Revenue member had suggested widening of free space around the temple on all sides for avoiding occurrence of stampedes.

With availability of free space in front of the temple during Rath Yatra stampedes can be avoided, the report had cited.

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Puri temple out to appease Shankaracharya

Debabrata Mohapatra, TNN | Feb 18, 2015

BHUBANESWAR: Ahead of Nabakalebara in July, the Jagannath Temple Administration in Puri has decided not to repeat last year's "embarrassing mistake", which forced the Shankaracharya to boycott age-old ritual on chariots during Rath Yatra on June 29. 

During the last car festival, the seer, Swami Nischalananda Saraswati, skipped his rituals as the state government extended him a conditional invitation to come to the chariots "alone". 

"On December 7, the temple's managing committee unanimously adopted a resolution to retain the role and respect of the Shankaracharya during Rath Yatra. Proceedings of the resolution would be made public in a day or two," said a temple officer. "We will approach the seer and urge him to resume his ritual on chariots. He would also be requested to take his disciples onto chariots," the officer said. 

While the Shankaracharya could not be contacted for comment, his spokesperson said the seer would participate in Nabakalebara. "Guruji (Shankaracharya) has forgiven those people, who humiliated him and asked him to come alone onto chariots," said Manoj Mohapatra, spokesperson of Goverdhan Peeth, the seat of Puri Shankaracharya. 

Controversy started in the run-up to the Rath Yatra as the temple administration sought Shankaracharya's opinion on whether or not pilgrims should be allowed onto chariots. The seer recommended blanket ban on the pilgrims' access onto the chariots, much to the chagrin of servitors. 

A section of servitors, belonging to Daitapati nijog, questioned the role of Shankaracharya. Under pressure from servitors, the temple body restricted the seer's disciples from climbing onto chariots. The temple administration's decision triggered widespread resentment among saints across the state. 

The row reached a political pitch as opposition Congress and BJP demanded the government to apologize to the seer. Several ruling BJD leaders too reacted sharply and said the government had no right to interfere in temple's rituals and the age-old practices, though it can monitor the shrine's administrative functioning. 

Saints and seers took out rallies and condemned the government after the age-old practice was broken due to Shankaracharya's absence on chariots. Some saints demanded arrest of some influential servitors, who criticized the Shankaracharya and questioned his role on chariots.

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Mahaprasad Sale to be Restricted at Puri

By Express News Service

Published: 09th February 2015 

PURI: The Jagannath temple administration will restrict non-servitors from selling Mahaprasad in Ananda Bazaar inside the temple. Besides, sale of ‘Tanka Torani’ will also be stopped in the Ananda Bazaar. The decision follows a High Court order on a PIL filed by one Chittarajan Mohanty on January 30. He had alleged that non-servitors were reaping profit by selling food in the name of Mahaprasad inside the Ananda Bazaar and the ‘Tanka Torani’ is prepared under unhygienic conditions.

The temple’s Chief Administrator Bikash Chandra Mahapatra and Collector Aravind Agarwal held discussion with the Suar-Mahasuar Nijog, the servitor body that deals with cooking and selling of Mahaparasad, on the orders on Saturday.

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Stone slab falls off Puri Jagannath Temple

PURI, February 2, 2015

A stone slab weighing about 40 kg fell off the ‘Jalakrida Mandap’ (water recreation hall) of the 12th century Sri Jagannath Temple in Puri on Monday.

The stone was found early on Monday morning and there was no casualty as there were no devotees present at the place at the time, temple public relations officer Laxmidhar Pujapanda said.

Archaeological Survey of India has started the repairing work, he said.

People were barred from going near the site after devotees visiting the temple later in the day protested, he added.

’Jalakrida Mandap’ is located close to Maa Bimala Temple in the main temple premises.

ASI had completed its repair and restoration works inside the temple in December last year.

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Devotee, Servitors Clash in Puri Temple

PURI: Tension prevailed inside Jagannath temple on Wednesday morning following a scuffle between a jawan and two servitors.

According to reports, seven jawans of Army Cantonment unit at Golabandha in Ganjam district had come to Puri for ‘darshan’ of the Trinity.

While having ‘darshan’ inside the temple during Mangal Arati, a servitor, Somanath Mekap, came to them with a plate and asked them to donate money in the name of the Lords. One of the jawans, D Madhav Rao, put Rs 50 on the plate and took back Rs 40 from it.

Mekap, however, objected to this and said whatever money is dropped on the plate cannot be taken back. An altercation ensued between them that led to a scuffle in which, both Rao and Mekap were injured. Besides Mekap, another servitor was injured during the scuffle.

Receiving information, the Lion’s Gate police rushed to the spot and took both the servitor and the jawan to police station where they lodged FIRs against each other. Later, the cases were withdrawn as police brokered an amicable settlement between the two parties.

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