Puri temple crisis: Bijoy slams Gajapati Maharaj

Last Updated December 31, 2018

Bhubaneswar: Three days after the Jagannath temple in Puri plunged into crisis as servitors, aggrieved over alleged misconduct of a constable, closed the shrine for over 12 hours on Friday and stopped performing rituals, leaving the deities hungry, former Minister Bijoy Mohapatra today targeted Puri Gajapati Maharaj Dibyasingha Deb saying the latter cannot take the issue lightly. The Gajapati is the first servitor of Lord Jagannath and the permanent chairman of the temple managing committee. “People respect Gajapati Maharaj a lot as he is the first servitor of Lord Jagannath. As the chairman of the temple managing committee Gajapati Maharaj also has some duties and responsibilities towards Shree Mandir. Neither the Gajapati nor the Government should take the management of the sacred shrine lightly,” Mohapatra told reporters here. Meanwhile, Gajapati's office responded to Mohapatra's allegations saying Odisha Government has taken over the management of the 12th century shrine from Gajapati Maharaj since 1960 and the administrative responsibilities solely lie with Shree Jagannath Temple Administration Chief Administrator.