Bhubaneswar: Public darshan at Lord Dhabaleswar temple was halted throughout the day on Friday on the second day of holy Mahapanchaka in the Karttika month due to a face-off between the administration and priests.
The priests completed all the rituals in the wee hours today soon after the opening of the temple doors. Devotees in long queue also offered prayers to the Lord in the morning. As the number of devotees increased, the district administration erected a barricade to control the crowd.
The priests, however, opposed the move of the administration leading to a logjam in the temple. The priests didn’t cooperate with the administration and locked the doors of the temple in protest against the barricading system.
Hundreds of devotees who came from far-off places stood in the queue for a long time. Some of them were also seen returning home empty-handed.
Athagarh sub-collector and Cuttack SP (Rural) discussed with the protesting priests. But, they failed to reach any consensus on the issue.
Later, the sub-collector warned of legal action against the priests if they would not ensure smooth darshan of devotees. Despite the warning, the priests also continued the agitation.
Later, the administration again convened a meeting and discussed with servitors which ended with no consensus.
Till the last reports came in, the doors of the shrine remained closed.
