The members of the Sri Jagannath Charitable Trust of Kendrapada spent from their own pocket to electrify a famous Shakti cult of the district. The Shakti cult of Milimila Thakurani at Beruhan village under Marshaghai block has been lying in neglect despite being an important spot. As per the local belief, people generally come to the shrine to worship the deity and to take bathing water (paduka) in order to get cured of serious diseases, particularly measles. There are several instances where people got cured of measles by using the bathing water of Maa Milimila. After getting cured of the disease, the people come with fruits, coconut, milk and sweets to offer to the deity and take her blessings.
But the shrine remains a neglected spot so far. It does not have road connectivity, neither is the shrine electrified. Generally, the servitors, priests and devotees face a lot of problems to come to the shrine during the evening hours due to lack of electricity.
Though several times the locals have demanded before the district administration to develop the area with minimum amenities, but the latter ignored. Recently, members of the Sri Jagannath Charitable Trust came to know about the problems of the shrine. They decided to carry out the electrification of the shrine on their own. On Monday, they made solar electrification at the shrine and also planted several medicinal plants in the vicinity. “We have made solar electrification at the shrine in order to ensure that the servitors, devotees and the priests of the shrine do not face any problem, while they come to the shrine for worshipping during evening hour,” said trust president Daman Mohanty. The trust members also demanded that the spot be added in the tourism map of district and steps be taken for further development of place.