Bhubaneswar: The newly appointed chief administrator of Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) Dr Arabinda Kumar Padhee today warned of strict action against the servitors who are using mobile phones atop the chariots during Rath Yatra.
Soon after assuming charge, Padhee said that no servitors will be allowed to climb atop the chariots unauthorisedly which is clearly mentioned in the SJTA guidelines.
Action will be taken against the priests for using mobile phones and taking photographs atop the chariots, he added.
“Use of mobile phones by some servitors atop chariots and entry of unauthorised servitors are being observed. Strict action will be taken against such indiscipline conduct. No one could climb atop the chariot unless he is engaged in service”.
“We seek cooperation from all the servitors and hope they will cooperate with us. We should not invite condemnation from various quarters rather we should involve ourselves for the promotion of our culture,” he added.
The SJTA chief also apologized to the Lord for the incident that happened during the Adapa Pahandi of Lord Balabhadra.
He said that a committee has been formed to inquire into the matter. The temple management will take care to ensure that such incident does not happen again.
Other rituals like Bahuda Yatra, Adhara Pana, Niladri Bije of the trinity will be carried out smoothly. The utmost emphasis will be given to how the rituals should be performed in a disciplined manner. The SJTA’s top priority is to ensure smooth rituals, he added.
Padhee visited the Gundicha temple to have darhsan of the deities on Adapa Mandap soon after assuming charge of the temple administration.
Notably, several senior servitors of the Srimandir expressed deep concerns over the mishap during Adapa Pahandi of Lord Balabhadra. Servitors flagged concerns about the heavy crowd of unauthorised priests on the chariots during the festival.
The State government has appointed Padhee as the new SJTA chief replacing Vir Vikram Yadav.
