Bhubaneswar: Expressing serious concern over the slip of Lord Balabhadra during Pahandi ritual in Puri, Leader of Opposition Naveen Patnaik today urged Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi to take the necessary steps to ensure that such incidents do not occur in the future.
Lord Balavadra slipped while being taken by the servitors on the ceremonial “Goti Pahandi” to the Adap Mandap of the Gundicha temple on the charmal of the Taladhwaja chariot, resulting in injuries to about a dozen servitors, Shri Patnaik said in his letter to the CM.
Shri Patnaik, a five-time Chief Minister of Odisha, said such an unfortunate incident had hurt the sentiments of the devotees of Lord Jagannath all over the world.
Describing Lord Jagannath as the symbol of Odia ‘Asmita’ (pride), the former CM said the Lord is the identity and pride of the people of Odisha. Lakhs of devotees from across the world throng the pilgrim town of Puri to witness the famous Rath Jatra of the Lords, he said.
Besides, crores of people also watch the proceedings during the annual festival on television and different social media platforms, Patnaik said.
The BJD Supremo stated that this incident during the pahandi of Lord Balabhadra was unprecedented and had never happened in the history of Rath Jatra and added that he could not believe his eyes that such a mishap could happen.
He expressed his distress over the light statements made by some Ministers on this sensitive issue, which he said had further hurt the sentiments of the devotees.
Shri Patnaik emphasized that Mahaprabhu is the pride, identity, and symbol of the Odia people, as well as the central point of their belief and confidence and urged the Chief Minister to personally intervene in the matter and take necessary steps to ensure that such mishaps will not occur in the future.
Shri Patnaik expressed his hope that the Chief Minister would take tangible steps to provide relief to the crores of devotees of the Lords.