Even as the outcry over the missing of the Jagannath Temple’s Ratna Bhandar keys continues, the temple is once again in the news for another wrong reason.
The Rashtrapati Bhavan has expressed strong displeasure over inappropriate behaviour of some servitors of the temple towards President Ram Nath Kovind and his wife Savita Kovind during their visit to the temple in March.
A discussion on the incident was held in the temple managing committee meeting recently. The Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) has also decided to serve show cause notice to the erring servitors over the matter.
As per reports, during the visit of the first citizen of the nation and his wife to the temple on March 18, some servitors allegedly nudged the two while both were having darshan of the deities.
This apart, a Khuntia Mekap servitor allegedly did not make room for the President while he was offering prayers in the sanctum sanctorum, reports added.
Notably, the Supreme Court, after hearing a petition filed by one Mrinalini Padhi highlighting difficulties faced by devotees at the temple and their harassment or exploitation by servitors, had recently directed the Odisha Government to take adequate measures to prevent such incidents.