The long-drawn tussle between the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) and the servitors has been resolved with a decision allowing the servitors to touch the deities during the upcoming festival of Snana Purnima of lord Jagannath, lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra.
The differences with the servitors have been sorted out, informed SJTA Chief Administrator Pradeep Kumar Jena late on Saturday evening.
“If we combine the decisions taken in 2014 by the management committee and the High Court directive together and go through the proceedings of the management this year, there will be no place for any doubt between us.
Today, all the differences were resolved when we went through everything together at a meeting,” Jena said.
With the decision taken at the meeting chaired by Jena on Saturday, the servitors can touch the deities during Pahandi of lord Jagannath and His siblings on Snana Purnima.
Daitapati Niyog secretary Premananda Das Mohapatra said, “The Chief Administrator nicely explained the difference between the authorised servitors and unauthorised persons. All the servitors will have darshan during pahandi of the deities on Snana Purnima. They will also be allowed to climb atop chariots and have darshan the deities during the Rath Yatra.”
The final decision on the demand allowing the servitors’ families to touch the deities would be taken on June 13. The meeting was held in evening on Saturday after the servitors boycotted the third meeting of the Rath Yatra Coordination Committee and handed over a memorandum of their demands to law Minister Pratap Jena at the premises of Gopabandhu Ayurveda College here. The servitors said that touching the deities is their birthright as per the record of rights of the Shree Jagannath Temple.