The Daitapati community of Puri on Saturday performed Trayodashi ritual for the departing of old idols of lord Jagannath, lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra and Sudarshan.Free Mahaprasad was served to about 80,000 devotees, including Brahmins, Vaishnabs, Sadhus, Matas and devotees, in the inner complex (Kurma Bedha) of the Shreemandir.Earlier, the Daitapati Nijog had announced to distribute Mahaparasd to 1 lakh devotees on the Trayodashi on the Bada Danda. The temple administration had appealed to the devotees to donate for the grand feast.
In the wake of Brham Parivartan fiasco and subsequent resentments, the Daitapati Nijog had cancelled the programme and limited it to some thousands. The temple administration and the Nijog under pressure from various quarters too announced to return the donations to the donors.On Saturday morning, there was a tussle among the Daitas and the Suars (temple cooks) over preparation of Mahaprasad.The matter was resolved by intervention of temple officials and senior servitors of both the communities. The Mahaprasad seva continued till late in the evening and there was no untoward incident reported.