Jagatsinghpur: A rampant fleecing of devotees at Sarala Temple in the district has angered public, a report said Saturday.
Devi Sarala is revered by people and is the presiding deity of Jagatsinghpur district. The temple is visited by thousands of devotees daily.
Imposition of exorbitant charges on devotees at the parking stand, shoe stand, bhogs and lamp stalls has led to resentment. This has been going on for several years. The temple premises are now filled with garbage and there is a stink pervading on the premises.
It seems that no one has control over people running the parking area and stalls in the temple.
The persons managing the parking stand is charging much higher fees than what has been fixed by the Temple Management Committee. They are charging Rs 20 for each two-wheeler even though the temple management exempted them from charges.
Heavy vehicles which come to the temple for pujas are also being charged Rs 150 while the temple authorities are yet to put up any notice charging fee from them.
The stall selling bhogs also charges devotees exorbitantly and also defrauds them in weights. While the price of a kg of Pheni (a sweet) has been fixed at Rs 120, stall owners charge Rs 250 a kg from devotees, and also cheats them in weight.
Fleecing of devotees by the stall owners has resulted in tension. Several complaints have been lodged with the district administration in the past. But they have never been addressed.
Sources said earlier the Collector was the ex-officio President of the Temple Managing Committee and the Sub-Collector its Executive Officer.
Two months back the management of the temple was taken over by the Endowment Department. The department has appointed a senior endowment officer as Executive Officer of the temple.
But he is often absent as he is the Executive Officer of the Gorakhnath shrine too in the district. People who want to meet him and file complaints are unable to do so due to his frequent absence from the temple.
Revenue worth lakhs of rupees are outstanding with the stall owners, but the temple management is in no mood to collect them.
Reports said Rs 4,31,151 was due from the lamp stand owner, Rs 5,46,585 from parking and shoe stand operators and Rs 12,31,498 from the bhog stall owner in 2018. But the temple authorities have allowed them to run their stalls without signing any agreement or collecting security deposit.
This money could have been used for the development of the temple and for ensuring essential facilities for devotees.
A large pond named Chandan pond where devotees wash their hands and feet before entering the temple is now polluted as it has not been cleaned.
Over 547 acres are registered in the name of the deity, but due to large scale encroachments the temple is buying rice from the market to prepare bhogs for the goddess. The temple roof has developed cracks at many places, but nothing is being done to repair it.
When contacted, Collector Sangram Keshari Mohapatra said he will call a review meeting July 12 and discuss the issue threadbare and would resolve the issue.
PNN