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Friday, 10 April 2015

Identification of Daru to be Completed by Next Week

PURI: The Sri Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) is hopeful of announcing the location of Daru (the Neem trees to be used for carving out the divine idols) by April 14. The location of Daru for Sudarshan will be announced first followed by the announcement regarding location of the second Daru after a gap of seven days.

Informing this to media persons on Wednesday, SJTA Chief Administrator Suresh Mohapatra said till today the Daitapatis have come across around 100 probable trees with symbols embedded on their trunks which are similar to those prescribed in Nabakalebara manual that is a closely guarded document maintained by the family of Jagannath Swain Mohapatra, the chief servitor of Lord Jagannath.

As per the manual, the Neem trees should bear holy symbols like mace, lotus, conch and wheel on their trunks and should be mature enough for carving out the idols. Besides, there should be a river and a cremation ground near the tree surrounded by Sahada and Bakul trees. While the tree should not have any bird’s nest on its branches, there should be an ant hill at its base.

“In a day or two, they will shortlist 10 to 15 trees which will be once again checked by the Dalapati, Upadalapati, four Badagrahis and seniors in the Banajaga team. Subsequently, they would come down to four trees that match all the criteria prescribed in the Nabakalebara manual. The team members will inform the temple administration about the locations in writing through their Dalapati by April 12 or April 13 and we will first announce the location of Daru for Sudarshan by April 14,” Mohapatra informed. The announcement will be made only after all security arrangements for protection of the identified tree and basic facilities are made at the spot. After the group of Banajaga members complete ‘yagna’ near the short-listed tree, it will be felled and placed on a wooden cart that would be dragged back to the Jagannath temple by the Daitapatis.

Subsequently, the announcement for location of Darus for Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra will be made one after another. “The entire process of announcing the location of Darus for the Trinity, felling and bringing them to Jagannath temple will take another month,” Mohapatra added.

While the Banajaga Yatra had started on March 29, the search for the trees began three days back.

The Banajaga team members are fanning out to different places in different directions from the Deuli Mutt at Kakatpur on a daily basis by splitting themselves into small groups. Each team is led by a Badagrahi. The Shrotriya Brahmins accompanying the Banajaga team stay behind at the Kakatpur Mangala temple and Deuli Mutt and perform ‘Saptasati Chandi Patha’ besides chanting the Vedic hymns to make the search mission easier for the servitors.

Daitapatis find neem tree at Amalapada

Published: 09th April 2015

DHENKANAL: Devotees in large numbers thronged Amalapada in Dhenkanal town on Wednesday after members of the Banajaga Yatra, led by senior servitor of Puri Jagannath Temple Haladhar Das Mohapatra, visited a house in the area in search of Daru.

Pix for representational purposes only

Sources in the Sri Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) said during the search operation in Amalapada, the Daitapatis came across a Neem tree in the house of one Mira Bai with symbols embedded on its trunk that appeared similar to those prescribed in Nabakalebara manual. “But we cannot be sure about the actual tree at present. The Daitapatis will continue their search operation and a final call on the actual trees will be taken only after a meeting among the Daitapatis and the temple administration,” said Das Mohapatra.

Mira said the Neem tree is being worshipped by her family members and ancestors for the last 60 years.

As locals rushed to the spot to have a glimpse of the Neem tree, police had to face a tough time in managing the crowd. Thousands of vehicles had to be stationed at the main bus stand near Amalapada.

Later in the day, the Banajaga team members also visited Khadakprasad village and examined some more Neem trees.

Divisional Forest Officer PK Sahoo said the district forest administration has decided to grow trees under Jagannath Bana Prakalpa (Jagannath Forest Project) for meeting the requirement of wood during the annual Rath Yatra of the Trinity.

The project would be spread in an area of over 175 hectares under different forest ranges.

Alarnath Temple Infra Work to be Completed by May-end


Published: 08th April 2015

BHUBANESWAR: The State Government has decided to complete infrastructure development in and around Alarnath temple at Brahmagiri in Puri district taken up with an expenditure of Rs 18 crore for the 45-day ‘Anasar’ of Lord Jaganath by the end of May.

Progress in the work was reviewed at the Secretariat here on Tuesday by Minister of State for Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister Sanjay Kumar Dasburma. Conservation and infrastructure development of the temple has been taken up by the Culture Department. A provision of Rs 3.5 crore has been made for this.

Infrastructure development of Alarnath temple includes construction of boundary wall, kitchen and yagya mandap, strengthening of Meghnad wall and renovation of the well. All these works will be completed by May 25.

Official sources said Rs 13 crore has been spent by National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) for development of Brahmagiri bus stand and widening of road. Besides, LED lightings will be installed around the temple at a cost of Rs 1.6 crore.

Renovation of Chandan Puskarini (pond) has been taken up at a cost of Rs 78 lakh. While the boundary wall has been completed, work on construction of steps to the pond is going on. Construction of parking place for vehicles will be completed in first week of June. The project will be taken up with an expenditure of Rs 36 lakh.

Augmentation of drinking water supply to the temple has been taken up with a budget of Rs 60 lakh. The project includes construction of overhead tank and laying of pipelines. Besides, Rs three crore is being spent by the Rural Development Department for repair of roads connecting Brahmagiri.

It was decided that primary health centres (PHCs) at Kerandia and Brahmagiri will be upgraded. Revenue Divisional Commissioner (Central) Bikash Mohapatra will visit Brahmagiri on May 6 to review progress of the projects. The Minister asked the officials to complete the projects within the time frame.

Chief Administrator of Puri Jagannath Temple Administration Suresh Chandra Mohapatra, Secretary in the Works Department Nalini Kanta Pradhan and senior officials attended the meeting.

Villagers guard trees meant for Puri idols


BHUBANESWAR: Probable neem trees, spotted by a group of Jagannath Temple priests at different places for Nabakalebara, have been drawing huge crowd with locals offering prayers and conducting yagnas every day. 

Villagers said they have formed groups to protect the trees. 

At Jhinti on the outskirts of the city, villagers do not allow people to touch a neem tree, which was inspected by priests on Monday. 

"We are hopeful that the 70-year-old tree will be used for Jagannath's idol. The Banajaga Yatris asked us to take care of the tree. We have been protecting the tree," said Sanjay Sahoo, a local. 

Priests spotted a tree on Monday at Daruthenga near Chandaka here. "People from nearby areas have been visiting our village to catch a glimpse of the tree, which meets all the criteria for Jagannath's idol. We are worshipping the tree," said Bikram Pradhan, a villager. 

Priests have so far spotted over 20 probable neem trees for formation new idols of Jagannath, Balabhadra, Subhadra and Sudarshan. 

After reaching Kakatpur on April 2 as part of 49-day Banajaga Yatra (search for Neem trees), the priests belonging to Daitapati community of the temple split in different groups and located the probable trees in Khurda, Puri, Cuttack and Jajpur districts. 

"We will continue the search operation for the next few days. Our team members will discuss with the team leader and finalize the four sacred trees," said senior servitor Ramakrushna Dasmohapatra. 

Jagannath Temple Administration has been keeping the development very 'low key'. "Since selection of the trees is a sensitive matter, we have to maintain secrecy. We will shortly announce the location of the four trees," said a temple officer. 

The temple administration earlier urged the media not to publish or display any material, relating to probable location of neem timber before official announcement by the temple body. 

"People in huge numbers might congregate at those villages, which will lead to serious law and order situation. It will be extremely difficult for temple administration to protect such trees," temple's chief administrator Suresh Mohapatra had said. 

"Mediapersons are requested not to chase or follow the Daitapati Sevaks till the final announcement about trees by temple administration," Mohapatra had added.

Illegal crusher units cost Puri temple Rs 3 crore

BHUBANESWAR: The Jagannath Temple administration is losing Rs 3-crore revenue annually to illegal stone crusher units, operating on its land in Khurda district, the Odisha State Pollution Control Board (OSPCB) revealed on Monday. 

OSPCB regional officer (Bhubaneswar) Hadibandhu Panigrahi said around 250 crusher units have come up on 500-acre temple land and these are functioning without the consent of the temple administration and the pollution board. "The temple administration can earn Rs 60,000 by leasing out an acre. The 500 acre would fetch Rs 3 crore," he said. 

Panigrahi said the temple administration had informally asked some crusher units to deposit Rs 60,000 annually against an acre. "During a personal hearing, the crusher unit owners informed us about the amount, but no one is paying the same," he said. 

The regional officer said the board has again sought the list of such crusher units from the temple administration to initiate action against them. "We had earlier made two similar requests, but in vain," he added. 

The OSPCB alleged that these crusher units are violating the 'site' criterion. During an inspection, several units were found to be located within 500 metre of human habitation. 

Temple's chief administrator Suresh Mohapatra said he would look into the matter. "We will try to get details of the illegal crusher units and take action against them in consultation with the pollution board," he said. 

Official sources said of the 23 districts, which have temple lands, Khurda has the highest 26,673 acre.

Daitapatis upset with journey arrangements

TNN | Apr 1, 2015

BHUBANESWAR: The Jagannath Temple administration's tall claims of foolproof arrangements for Nabakalebara came a cropper as the priests, who are on a barefoot journey to locate the sacred trees for the new idols, were not given any welcome at Balighai, about nine km from Puri on Tuesday.

The priests, who were scheduled to halt at a temporary shelter in Balighai on Puri-Konark marine drive road, expressed strong displeasure when they found not a single person from the temple or district administration. After departing from Jagannath Ballav Mutt around 12.35 am on Monday, the priests reached Balighai at 2.15 am. "The accommodation centre was completely dark. There was nobody to receive us. We were not given water. There was no fan. The arrangement was very poor," said servitor Ramakrushna Dasmohapatra.

Temple officials said the inconvenience happened because the priests reached the venue much before their scheduled arrival. "The Daitapati servitors were scheduled to reach early in the morning on Tuesday. We had no idea that they would reach before that. Our staff went to the place immediately after learning about the arrival of priests," said a temple officer.

On Tuesday evening, the priests marched towards Ramachandi, about 14 km from Balighai, where they would halt at a temporary accommodation on Tuesday night.

Wednesday, 1 April 2015

Cheers prod Daitapatis to continue trek

BHUBANESWAR: Overwhelmed by the cheers of countless devotees on first day of Banajaga Yatra (journey to locate for neem trees for Nabakalebara) on Sunday, young priest Nutan Dasmohapatra was thrilled to resume the 49-day expedition to Kakatpur, 60 km from Puri, late on Monday. 

Not only Nutan, but 100 other priests of the shrine's Daitapati Nijog, renewed their endeavour for the arduous barefoot trek, even as all eyes are on the locations to where the neem trees would be traced. After starting their journey from the Jagannath Temple on Sunday, the priests stayed overnight at the Jagannath Ballav mutt in the town. 

Scores of devotees, well-wishers and family members of priests thronged the mutt. Some turned emotional as they will not be able to see the Daitapatis for the next one-and-a-half months. "It is difficult to express my feelings. I never expected such colourful processions and good wishes from devotees. Initially, I was skeptical whether I would be able to trek barefoot. Now, I am ecstatic," said Nutan. 

To instill a sense of spiritualism among the young priests, who are on their maiden Banajaga Yatra, the seniors organized sankirtan programme at the mutt. Banagaja Yatra gave an opportunity to tourists to interact with priests and learn about the festival, which was last observed in 1996. 

The mutt, considered a favourite place of Jagannath, wore a bridal look. Though it had been languishing in neglect till recently, the tourism department renovated the site in view of Nabakalebara. "In 1996, the mutt was not in good shape. This time, the administration has made good arrangements," said Ramakrushna Dasmohapatra, a senior priest. 

Temple's chief administrator Suresh Mohapatra and SP (Puri) Ashish Singh on Monday interacted with the servitors before the latter started their journey between 12 am and 12.30 am. "Our personnel will accompany them. We will ensure that people do not come close to them," said Singh. 

According to schedule, the Daitapatis would reach Deuli mutt in Kakatpur on April 2 and offer prayers at Mangala temple, nearly two km from Deuli mutt, on April 3.

Idol wood search begins at Puri

Sand sculptor Sudarshan Patnaik with his creation dedicated to the banajaga Yatra. Picture by Sarat Patra 

Puri, March 28: The banajaga yatra or the journey to search for the sacred wood to make the new idols of Lord Jagannath and his siblings, which is also the first step to the Nabakalebar festival, will start from Puri tomorrow. 

Devotees from across the state have started reaching the holy town to witness the yatra. Internationally renowned sand artist Sudrashan Patnaik has paid tribute to the yatra by carving the deities in sand on the Puri beach. The sand sculpture drew devotees and tourists in large number. 

Nearly 150 servitors will be a part of the banajaga yatra that is set to reach Maa Managala Temple after trekking a distance of 60 km before launching the search for the sacred wood. 

Puri king Gajapati Dibyasingh Deb said: "We have perfect coordination with the temple servitors. With the blessings of the Lord, we hope everything will happen smoothly." 

Chief temple administrator Suresh Chandra Mahapatra said: "All preparations for the yatra have been completed. Yatra team leader and other members have been nominated." 

The temple administration today announced names of daitapatis, who will act as Biswabasu and Vidyapati for the banajaga yatra. They play a major role in finding the right wood for making the idols. 

Biswabasu was the tribal king who was one of the first devotees of Lord Jagannath, who is often described as a tribal deity. 

On the other hand, Vidyapati married the daughter of Biswabasu and was also a great devotee of Lord Jagannath. 

According to the announcement, Binayak Dasmohapatra was appointed as Biswabasu and Narsingha Pati Mohapatra was named as Vidyapati. Earlier, the temple management had named Haladhar Dasmohapatra as the yatra team leader. 

Daitapati Binayak Dasmohapatra said: "A great responsibility has been bestowed on me. I will try to do my best with all dedication and devotion." 

Puri police have also made elaborate arrangements to provide foolproof security to the banajaga yatra team. 

"A police party under the leadership of an additional superintendent of police will follow the team and will be responsible for providing the security to them. They will also follow strict discipline and austerity like the members of the banajaga team. Stress will be laid on ensuring smooth flow of traffic during the yatra," said Puri police chief Ashish Singh. Nearly 22 platoons of police will be engaged for the purpose. 

The team will leave the Jagannath temple in the evening tomorrow and will stay at the Jagannath Ballabh Mutt in the town. 

On March 30 midnight, they will leave for Puri. On April 3, they will perform the necessary rituals at the Maa Mangala temple and the next day they will set out in search of the sacred tree to extract the wood for making the idols. 

The entire exercise is likely to be completed by May 15. The rath yatra, during which the new idols of the deities will be on display, will be held on July 18.