- The committee will report Srimandir administration within 10 days of Niladri Bije.
- Srimandir management committee has urged State Govt to open Ratna Bhandar.
Puri: All devotees of Mahaprabhu Jagannath have been deeply hurt and saddened by Tuesday’s incident where Bada Thakura Balabhadra slipped down on charamala during adapa pahandi. The incident will be investigated following the Rath Yatra, assured Gajapati Dibyasingha Deba.
A meeting of the management committee held at Niladri Bhakta Nivas on Wednesday, chaired by Gajapati Dibyasingha Deba, resolved to probe every aspect of the incident and to submit a report to the temple administration. In a similar vein, the temple’s management committee has petitioned the state government to permit access to the temple’s Ratna Bhandar on the 14th.
Post-meeting, Gajapati Dibyasingha Deba expressed that the recent incident has caused distress to crores of Shri-Jagannath devotees; as a result, the Srimandir management committee has passed two significant resolutions.
The district administration will look into the cause of the incident, while the overcrowding of servitors on the chariot is a primary concern. The investigation will determine the circumstances leading to the incident. In addition, the Srimandir administration is implementing measures to ensure safety and orderliness in anticipation of the upcoming Bahuda Yatra and Niladri Bije.
Bir Vikram Yadav, the chief administrator of Srimandir, announced the formation of a three-member committee to investigate the incident. This committee will examine all facets and deliver their findings to the Srimandir administration within 10 days after Niladri Bije. It will include the additional district magistrate, the deputy superintendent of temple administration, and the revenue administrator.
Furthermore, the SOP developed by the new monitoring committee, led by Justice Biswanath Rath, has been handed over to the Srimandir administration. The Srimandir management committee discussed this and introduced some amendments to the SOP.
However, we are waiting to see what the state government is going to do about the opening of Ratna Bhandar of the Srimandir. After the decision of the state government, the district administration is fully prepared to open the Ratna Bhandar of the temple, Collector Siddharth Shankar Swain said.
Out of the 12 servitors who were injured in Tuesday’s incident, 11 have recovered. Another servitor is under medical supervision.
