In view of the number of devotees of Lord Jagannath touching 10-lakh mark during the festivals like Rath Yatra and Suna Besha every year, the ongoing eviction drive in 75-metre-radius around the Shereemandir in Puri is justified for safety and security reasons, said environmentalist and former MLA Bidhudhendra Pratap Das on Thursday.
“Around 10 lakh devotees coming from across the country and abroad gather during Rath Yatra and Suna Besha. Over two lakh devotees visit the shrine on other festival days. In view of this, the Justice BP Das Commission has recommended removal of structures in 75-metre-radius around the Shreemandir. Accordingly, the Government has directed the district administration to demolish Emar and other mutts. This is very much justified,” said Das in a statement.
Commenting on the Shankaracharya’s disapproval to the eviction drive, Das wanted to know from the seer if any alternative system can be made for such a huge number of devotees to have smooth darshan of Lord Jagannath and his siblings Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra during Rath Yatra and other festivals.
Besides, he said the Shankaracharya should suggest ways for stopping stampede-like situation arising in the Shreemandir every day due to presence of 20,000 to 30,000 devotees.
Former MLA Das has demanded that Xerox scanner machines be installed at the four gates of the Shreemandir for inspection of bags of devotees for safety of the shrine.
He said though the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration had paid money for purchase of Xerox scanner machine two years back, machines purchased by the police administration are of very low quality.