Bhubaneswar, July 11: Leader of Opposition Naveen Patnaik on Thursday requested Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi to take exemplary steps over the mishap which took place during the 'Adapa Bije Pahandi' (carrying the deity in a procession) of Lord Balabhadra in Puri.
In a letter to CM Majhi, Naveen wrote, “In this regard, I would like to request you to take responsibility yourself to ensure that such an incident does not recur. I believe that your exemplary steps in this direction will help to reassure crores of devotees.”
He added that the hollow comments made by certain State Cabinet Ministers regarding the mishap have doubled the devotees' grief, deeply hurting their emotions. This approach by the government has failed to reassure the devotees.
The mishap has deeply disturbed Lord Jagannath devotees worldwide, and I am also profoundly saddened by this incident. An occurrence like this during the Lord's ‘Pahandi’ is unprecedented. Witnessing Lord Balabhadra fall was truly heartbreaking. Such an event has never occurred in the history of Rath Yatra. At first glance, it was hard to believe that this incident had taken place, wrote Naveen in the letter.
Worth mentioning, during the 'Adapa Bije Pahandi' ceremony following the Rath Yatra in Puri, several servitors were injured when Lord Balabhadra's idol fell on them. The incident occurred as the deities were being transferred from their chariots to the Adapa Mandap of the Gundicha temple on Tuesday evening. Specifically, while moving Lord Balabhadra's idol from the Taladhwaja chariot using the temporary ramp, Charamala, it slipped and caused injuries to several servitors. The injured were promptly taken to Puri hospital for treatment.
