Broken images of certain deities are being worshipped inside the Sri Jagannath temple here for quite some time now. This has created widespread resentment among the Baripada people, particularly among the devotees.
While the Ganesh idol on the Natya Mandap is broken in its belly, the idols of Sitaram, Srikrishna, Hara-Gouri and laxmi-Ramakrushna placed in different areas inside the temple premises, are also broken in some way or the other.
These are all ominous signs and they need to be remedied, otherwise unfortunate incidents like the one that took place here inside the temple premises about one and a half months ago may happen again and again, the local people now say.
The unprecedented, bizarre incident of rape of a minor girl, it may be recalled, took place here in the temple premises itself on March 31.
What is noteworthy, since the time of Nava Kalevara in 2015, new idols costing about Rs 1,60,000 meant to replace the old, broken ones have been kept sealed in the bags inside the temple itself, but surprisingly their ‘pratistha’ ceremony is yet to be held.
The Hari Baladev Jew Jagannath temple of Baripada was built here by Maharaja Baidyanath Bhanj way back in 1575, and since then it has remained famous as the “Second Srikshetra” all over.
So the pathetic condition of some of its idols has quite naturally upset most of the devotees, who now urge the concerned authorities to take early remedial measures. Or else, the people of the town may be forced to take to streets, they warned.