Bhubaneswar: As if the administration facing public ignominy due to falling of Balabhadra’s idol on the Charamala (ramp) of Taladhwaja chariot while being taken to ‘Adapa Mandap’ of Gundicha temple in Puri Tuesday was not enough, Law Minister Prithviraj Harichandan and Deputy Chief Minister Pravati Parida Wednesday courted controversy by underplaying the incident.
While the Deputy CM dubbed it as a minor mishap, the Law minister said it was nobody’s mistake and that Lord Mahaprabhu knows what led to such a mishap.
When asked, Parida said, “It was a minor mishap. It was God’s grace that nothing major happened. All the servitors had minor injuries.”
Harichandan said, “The servitors who sustained injuries in the mishap are out of danger. Most of them immediately participated in the rituals after being discharged from the hospital. It’s nobody’s mistake. Lord Mahaprabhu knows what led to such a mishap. Instead of dwelling upon such things, we should pray for speedy recovery of the injured servitors. Steps will be taken to make the Rath Yatra hassle-free in the coming days.”
However, temple servitors have expressed concern over the lack of measures taken to ensure the safety of the Lord’s idol and the servitors themselves.
“Such an incident has never happened in the history of Rath Yatra festival,” said one servitor. Despite repeated requests to make ‘Pahandi Bije’ ritual more disciplined, no measures have been taken, rued the servitor.
Puri Collector Siddharth Shankar Swain said, “Injured servitors were hospitalised soon after the mishap. A probe will begin soon to ascertain the cause of the incident.”
The incident has sparked a heated debate over the need for greater vigilance and safety measures to ensure the well-being of the idols and the servitors during the festival. Devotees are calling for swift action to prevent such incidents in the future.
PNN
