Puri: The Supreme Court’s ordered Thursday the cancellation of this year’s Rath Yatra. Now the fate of the three grand chariots that were on the verge of completion, remains shrouded in uncertainty.
The age-old practice has been to dismantle the chariots after the Grand Festival every year. The logs used for the construction of the chariots were utilised in the Holy kitchen for preparation of ‘Mahaprasad’.
This year the situation is different and unprecedented. The present lot of servitors and government officials has never encountered such a situation before. So they are clueless as to what they should do next.
As soon as the apex court’s decision became public, different theories regarding what is to be done with the chariots have started doing rounds.
A meeting of the Sri Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) and servitors that will also include the Odisha Law Minister Pratap Jena and Secretary Sashikanta Mishra is slated to be held later Friday.
Scholars and senior citizens have said that since the chariots have not been consecrated they should not be dismantled like in the past years. Steps should be taken to keep them intact for the upcoming year.
“If it is not against the temple tradition, the chariots should be preserved for the next year. And it will have an effect on the atmosphere as well, as it will save hundreds of trees from being felled next year,’ experts said.
All eyes will be on what the SJTA does in this situation.
PNN