Kendrapara: In developments akin to that in Puri, the servitors of Baladev Jew temple in Kendrapara district staged an agitation Friday afternoon, demanding reopening of the shrine which was shut nearly seven months back in view of COVID-19 outbreak.
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Hundreds of servitors assembled in front of the Baladev Jew temple in Kendrapara district and started beating gongs as a token of their protest. The servitors are passing through tough times as well as acute fiscal crunch, owing to the closure of the temple, many servitors alleged.
Amid COVID-19 outbreak, the servitors are unable to arrange a square meal a day for their respective families. They have urged the state government to take necessary steps for reopening the temple soon and thereby help them eke out their livings.
“God knows how we are surviving for the past seven months. We urge the state government to allow devotees to have darshan in the temple by strictly adhering to COVID-19 guidelines and maintaining social distance”, a servitor Nrusingha Prasad Patri expressed.
“We survive on the donations given by devotees. If the state government fails to address our demands, we will intensify protest in the days ahead,” said another servitor Sanjaya Pati.
Notably, the Orissa High Court directed the state government and the state Endowment Commissioner October 7 to take an expeditious view of providing fiscal assistance to servitors or consider reopening temples, which were shut in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic.
Following the demand of temple servitors, devotees and different religious organisations in Odisha, the state government has already initiated the process Thursday for reopening of major temples.
PNN
