Even though normalcy was restored in the rituals of the deities at the Jagannath Temple here on Wednesday after two days of disruption, Mahaprasad was not prepared as Suar and Mahasuar servitors stuck to their guns that they won’t prepare the Bhog till they are compensated for the losses incurred by them.
The servitors reiterated their demand of Rs 50-lakh compensation by the temple administration for the losses due to the Mahaprasad remaining unsold on Monday owing to delay in the rituals. But the temple administration stuck to its stand that it was not responsible for the losses as the Mahaprasad was cooked for commercial purposes.
While the temple’s Ananda Bazar wore a deserted look due to unavailability of Mahaprasad, Khichdi Bhog of the deities was distributed among the devotees by the Sri Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) in the morning.
However, the unavailability of Mahaprasad triggered resentment among the devotees, who had thought that it would be available after normalcy was restored in the rituals of the deities.
Puri district Collector Arbind Agarwal on the day again appealed to the servitors to cooperate with the administration in normalising the day-to-day activities in the temple.
On the other hand, the SJTA is scheduled to submit a report on the opening of the temple and other matters to the Orissa High Court on Thursday.