Puri: Construction of the three chariots for the annual Rath Yatra in Puri was disrupted for around four hours Wednesday after carpenters staged a protest against restrictions imposed on taking home leftover timber used in the process.
The chariot construction has been underway for 58 days since it began on Akshaya Tritiya.
Members of the Maharana Sevak community, the traditional carpenters involved in the work, stopped work and demanded continuation of rights granted to them under the Temple Record of Rights (RoR).
According to the RoR, carpenters are entitled to take leftover pieces of timber remaining after the construction of the three chariots — Taladhwaja of Lord Balabhadra, Darpadalana of Goddess Subhadra and Nandighosha of Lord Jagannath. The practice has been in place for generations, they said.
The protesting carpenters alleged that a recent directive issued by the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) prevented them from taking the leftover wood home.
“We are entitled to take small unused portions of the timber left after chariot construction. But temple officials have stopped us and are interfering unnecessarily in our work,” said carpenter Nrusingha Mahapatra.
SJTA Administrator (Niti) Priyaranjan Prusty said the issue was resolved after discussions with the chief carpenters of the three chariots.
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“The work has resumed after the administration informed them that they will be given money in place of the leftover wood,” Prusty said.
He said the administration was considering preserving the leftover timber for use in next year’s chariot construction, prompting the restriction.
The carpenters said they traditionally took home only small leftover pieces, generally measuring less than four feet in length and three feet in width.
“The administration’s order is arbitrary and unacceptable,” one of the protesters said.
Around 200 artisans, including carpenters, Bhoi servitors, blacksmiths, woodcutters, tailors and painters, are engaged in the construction of the three massive wooden chariots.
This year’s Rath Yatra is scheduled to be held on July 16.
Officials said around 865 large wooden logs are being used for the construction of the chariots — the 45.6-foot-high Nandighosha of Lord Jagannath, the 45-foot Taladhwaja of Lord Balabhadra and the 44.6-foot Darpadalana of Goddess Subhadra.
PTI