Baripada: The servitors of Baripada Jagannath temple gave up their padayatra to Bhubaneswar midway Wednesday after an assurance from the Revenue Minister that their demands would be examined by June 30.
The servitors had started the 250-km-long padayatra Wednesday at 8 am from Jagannath temple in Baripada to Bhubaneswar regarding their demand for the Dwitiya Srikhetra tag for the Jagannath temple here. They were planning to meet Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in connection with their demand.
After they had walked seven kilometres from the town, the Minister of Revenue and Disaster Management, Sudam Marndi, and Baripada sub-Collector (in-charge of the Endowment department), Dibyajoti Parida, rushed to the servitors and held talks with them.
“The Minister and the sub-Collector assured the servitors that steps will be taken to meet their demands by June 30, and that their demands will be taken up with the Chief Minister,” said Kameswar Tripathy, a servitor.
All the servitors – Anga Sevaks, Mandira Sevaks and Ratha Sevaks – had joined the marathon walk to Bhubaneswar to meet the Chief Minister. The padayatra was called off midway.
The servitors said that during the campaign for the fourth phase of elections they had raised the demand for Dwitiya Srikhetra status for the Jagannath temple in Baripada before Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik who had visited the temple then.
The servitors said that Baripada Jagannath temple has its own specialties. Rath yatra begins here a day after it starts at Puri. Another tradition here is that only women are entitled to pull the chariot of Devi Shubhadra. People have been calling it Dwitiya Srikhetra, but the government has not recognised it, they said.
It was the first visit of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to Baripada Jagannath temple when the servitors submitted a memorandum to the Chief Minister regarding this.
The other demands were appointment of an officer of magistrate rank for the Endowment department, appointment of servitors in mutts and temples, measures to streamline rituals, reclamation of the lands of mutts and temples and daily allowance of Rs 1,000 to Rs 5,000 to servitors. The CM had assured the servitors that he would look into their demands, they said.
The servitors said they had earlier made attempts to meet the Chief Minister to remind him about his assurance but unsuccessfully. They said they had informed about their marathon walk to the Revenue Minister, the Collector, the ADM and the sub-Collector.
Bhanja Sena, a local organisation, and many other associations of the district have rendered support to the servitors.
PNN