Jagannath Puri: Old chariot parts on sale

May 28, 2015 Subhashish Mohanty File picture of the dismantled parts of chariots after a rath yatra in Puri Bhubaneswar, May 27: Come June 5, devotees of Lord Jagannath will get an opportunity to buy parts of the divine chariots, including its wooden wheels, as mementos. Announcing the decision, chief administrator of the Jagannath temple administration Suresh Chandra Mohapatra today said: "The pieces will be sold on first-come-first served basis. While the price of a decorated wooden chariot wheel has been fixed at Rs 50,000, a piece of prava (a decorative wood work on the chariot) will cost Rs 25,000. We have invited people to send their applications or contact us through mobile phone." The devotees can reach the temple administration at 9437281288 and 9861093172. Besides, the guja (the wooden plate connecting wheel base and floor of chariot) will be sold for Rs 10,000 and asuri (wooden pillar on the chariot) for Rs 10,000 a piece. The temple administration has decided to sell 108 wheels, 103 pieces of guja, 83 pieces of asuri and nine pieces of prabha. These are parts of the three chariots of Lord Jagannath and his siblings that are lying with the administration since 2012. Mohapatra said: "Earlier, the parts of the chariots were used as firewood in the temple kitchens. The sale move is in response to the interest evinced by the devotees." He, however, said they would request the devotees buying the chariot parts not to misuse them. "If any one misuses it, we will initiate action against the buyers according to law," he said. In another development, the first meeting of the rath yatra co-ordination committee was held in Puri today to ensure that all ongoing projects for the car festival are completed well in time. The meeting, however, witnessed angry exchanges as many committee members alleged that a lot of work was yet to completed. They also raised questions as to how drainage, sewerage and road work be completed when most of them had just begun. Chairman of the Nabakalebar infrastructure committee Maheswar Mohanty, who enjoys the rank of a cabinet minister, admitted the delay in execution of works because of lack of co-ordination between different departments. "We will ensure that various infrastructure related works are completed before time. As the temperature has dropped a bit, work on various projects will be expedited," he said. The co-ordination committee meeting also dealt with the issue of health care services and parking facilities for vehicles that would enter Puri during the car festival. Revenue divisional commissioner Bikash Chandra Mohapatra said: "The government is holding regular meetings to monitor the projects." The members of the committee also questioned why the temple administration had allowed the carpenters to use kaintha wood instead of phasi wood for making the wheels of the chariots. "The age-old tradition has been broken. We seek an answer from the temple administration," said senior servitor Rama Chandra Dasmohapatra. The members also expressed their concern over the temple job of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). They are particularly irked over ASI painting the lower parts of temple mast in red instead of the traditional white. The temple administration has assured to repaint it white. http://www.telegraphindia.com/1150528/jsp/frontpage/story_22548.jsp#.VWkvHyS9ZJ4