Post News Network
Puri, June 28: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik emphasised need for smooth conduct of rituals and safety of devotees during the upcoming Rath Yatra here while chairing a special review meeting here Tuesday.
Patnaik asked the district administration and Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) to take all possible steps to make the car festival incident-free.
The chief minister also sought the cooperation of Srimandir servitors and residents of the pilgrim town for the smooth conduct of the annual sojourn of the deities.
The review meeting held at Gopabandhu Ayurveda Mahavidyalaya continued for only 40 minutes. Officials of various departments were asked to make brief presentations on their preparedness for the mega event. “This was the shortest review meeting on Rath Yatra in the last three decades. There was no detail discussion on any issue. No official was allowed to make a detailed presentation on infrastructure preparedness,” said an intellectual.
Interestingly, a few servitors and intellectuals, who had sought several clarifications from the district administration on various issues during the last three Rath Yatra review meetings, sat mute at Tuesday’s meeting. Though nine ministers were present at the review meeting, none of them participated in the discussion.
Many contentious issues including repair of a railway over-bridge (ROB) at Samjajpur and desilting of drains in the holy town found only passing references in the special review meet. The meeting was informed that repairing work has been initiated at the ROB and steps are being taken to complete it ahead of the car festival scheduled for July 6.
Meanwhile, the cavalcades of the CM and many of his cabinet colleagues were allowed to roll on the Samjajpur ROB even though the bridge has been closed for vehicular traffic since June 13.
A few activists of Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party tried to demonstrate during CM’s visit. Police detained 27 BJP workers when they tried to block a road, said sources.
Patnaik formally handed over 14 ropes, supplied by Orissa Coir Board, to the SJTA for the pulling of chariots.