A Puri-based RTI activist, Jayanta Kumar Das, has urged the President, the Union Home Ministry Secretary and the State Chief Secretary to issue a guideline on mass issue of cordon passes during the annual car festival of lord Jagannath. He also urged them not to allow VVIPS, VIPs and any unauthorised person except the servitors to climb the chariots.
Ahead of the Rath Yatra in July, Das in a letter to the President, Union Home Ministry Secretary and Chief Secretary said the local district administration (Puri Collector-cum-District Magistrate) should not be allowed to issue cordon and vehicle passes and the assignment should be given to the Home department. “Number of cordon passes should be restricted to 75 only. The cordon pass should be laminated and should have the photo, designation and other particulars of the pass holder with full signature of the issuing authority”, he said.
“As the 50 lakh devotees are expected to visit this year’s Rath Yatra due to Nabakalebar at Puri, unlimited issue of cordon and vehicle passes will pose threat to security system. Hence, there should be a transparent manner in issue of passes,” Das said. He also maintained that no register has been maintained has been maintained by the authorities. According to one RTI revelation, the Puri district administration had no information about the beneficiaries of cordon passes issued during 2012 Rath Yatra.