Odisha government today decided to allow only authorised servitors to climb the chariot of Lord Jagannath during the coming Rath Yatra and banned devotees from touching the idol.
The government also decided that the same principle would also be followed during the Lord's bathing ceremony on Snan Purnima and that only authorised servitors would be allowed to go till the bathing pandal in the premises of the 12th century shrine.
The decision in this regard was taken at the second Rath Yatra Coordination Committee meeting chaired by revenue divisional commissioner, cetral division, A B Ota.
"The list of these authorised servitors will be issued by the Temple Administration and the police department will follow it," Puri police superintendent Sarthak Sarangi said.
The meeting also resolved that the High Court order allowing authorised servitors/daitapatis atop the chariots of the deities will be strictly followed this year.
However, there was no decision on whether to allow the family members of the servitors to climb the chariots after they reached their destination on Sri Gundicha Day and on the completion of the return journey of the Lord.
The Orissa High Court has completely banned the devotees from climbing the chariots and allowed only authorised servitors. But the servitors claim that it was their birth right to climb the chariots after they reach the destination.
The meeting was conducted in the absence of some servitors of "Chhatisha Niyog" (36 different groups of servitors) who have been protesting the suspension of some of them.
Senior Daitapati servitor Ramachandra Das Mohapatra said that the administration had assured them that the issue would be resolved and raw materials for rituals and chariot construction would be provided on time.
The servitors and administration have been at logger heads since various issues during Nabakalebara and 2016 Rath Jatra.
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