Puri: There is a piece of good news for devotees as well as elderly women who observe Habisa in the Hindu month of Kartika.
The Suar-Mahasuar Niyog of Srimandir would open temporary counters at the South and North gates of the shrine to sell Mahaprasad during the month.
“Srimandir has been out of bounds for devotees since March this year due to Covid-19 pandemic. However, many devotees and elderly women who observe Habisa in Kartika require Mahaprasad. We will make all arrangements to supply Mahaprasad to the devotees,” said Suar-Mahasuar Niyog secretary Krushna Chandra Pratihari.
Pratihari claimed that Suar-Mahasuar Niyog had held discussions with the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) chief Krishan Kumar and proposed for the opening of a few temporary counters near Srimandir to sell Mahaprasad to the devotees.
“The SJTA chief has agreed to our proposal. We will soon erect a few temporary sheds near the shrine for sale of Mahaprasad. A temporary counter for the sale of temple delicacies had been opened near the Srigundicha temple during this year’s Rath Yatra,” Pratihari added.
According to him, devotees can collect Mahaprasad after buying tokens from the temporary counters. The devotees are required to adhere to Covid-19 norms while buying tokens and collecting Mahaprasad from the temple gates, Pratihari said.
SJTA administrator (development) Ajay Kumar Jena, however, said that he was not aware of any decision to open temporary counters for Mahaprasad sale during Kartika month. “The Suar-Mahasuar Niyog might have discussed the issue with the SJTA chief and received the latter’s nod for setting up of temporary sheds for sale of the temple delicacies during the holy month,” Jena added.
It is worth mentioning here that the state government had launched a scheme a few years ago to provide shelter and other facilities to elderly women who observe Habisa in Puri.
Last year, around 3,000 elderly women had availed the benefit of Habisiyali scheme. This year, the scheme has been suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic, sources said.
