Cuttack: After declaring the suspension bridge connecting the city with a famous Shiv temple located on an island of Mahanadi river as “unsafe”, the Cuttack district administration Wednesday made arrangements for virtual ‘darshan’ of the deity in the river bank.
The administration in the wake of the Morbi bridge collapse mishap, declared the hanging bridge here as unsafe for devotees and imposed prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPC for an indefinite period to facilitate repair work of the bridge.
Lord Dhabaleswar’s temple is located on the island and the place draws thousands of devotees every year during the holy month of ‘Kartik’. The last five days of the month is known as “Panchuka” when large numbers of people throng the temple using the hanging bridge.
While people earlier used boats to reach the Dhabaleswar temple, they now preferred the hanging bridge, which was constructed in 2006. “It is not safe to use the bridge as it has developed cracks and dust,” a senior district official said.
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Meanwhile, after a visit to the place, Cuttack District Collector Bhabani Shankar Chayani on Wednesday said that the administration has made arrangement for virtual darshan of the deity from the other side of the river.
He said the decision for a virtual darshan of the deity on an LED screen will be held near the hanging bridge. A statue of Lord Shiv will also be put near the river bank where the devotees can perform puja, the administration decided.
This apart, the administration also decided that the devotees can avail ‘gaja bhoga’ and other prasad near the bridge that connects to the shrine directly.
However, the servitors of the temple strongly opposed the administration’s proposal.
“We are not in favour of performing rituals near a temporary idol instead of the temple. The rituals will be carried out at the place where it’s meant to be,” a senior servitor said.
PTI