Gania: In a stunning development, four wooden idols of the Trinity and Sudarshan were recovered from Mahanadi riverbed opposite Ganapatishwar temple here in Nayagarh district Tuesday.
The idols of Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra, Lord Jagannath and Sudarshan were found decked up with silken clothes and spangled crowns along with offerings of apple and coconut.
While the idols of Lord Balabhadra and Lord Jagannath were 3ft in height, the idol of Devi Subhadra was 2.5 ft and that of Sudarshan was 2 ft. The recovery of the idols sparked surprise among locals.
The matter came to fore when Subhash Behera, a youth of nearby Dankari Sahi, was bathing in the river. His foot got stuck in the riverbed. He tried his best to pull it out but was unsuccessful and finally called others for help.
Hearing his screams, locals rushed to his help and pulled his foot out of the riverbed when they stumbled upon the idols.
After reports surfaced, hundreds of locals thronged the site to catch a glimpse of the deities and offered their obeisance.
On being informed, local tehsildar Rudra Narayan Das rushed to the spot and took stock of the situation.
Locals urged him to make arrangements for worshipping the deities, but he replied in the negative as there is no such provision by the government. He instead advised the villagers to place the idols in Ganapatishwar temple and worship them.
Village committee secretary Dhaneswar Nayak said a meeting of the committee will be convened and issues of installing the idols for worship and performing rituals will be taken up. PNN