**Puri**: Expressing displeasure over police action against some servitors of Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri over Niladri Bije fiasco last year, the Shree Jagannath Sevayat Sammilani has put up posters at several paces in the holy town urging the servitors to boycott the Rath Yatra coordination meeting this year.
In the posters, it is mentioned that the district administration defamed the servitors fraternity over the Niladri Bije issue.
“I admit that some servitors are responsible for the Niladri Bije row last year, but the way the district administration defamed the whole servitor fraternity was wrong. The matter is yet to resolved but I request to the State Government to solve the matter as soon as possible,” said Binayak Das Mohapatra, joint secretary of Daitapati Nijog.
The District Administration has called for preparatory meeting on March 30.
“I got to know about this poster issue today through the media only and will think about it what to do if they directly come to us,” said Puri Additional District Magistrate Bibhuti Bhusan Das.
Supporting the proposed boycott call, Damodar Mahasuar, a senior servitor, against whom a case was registered for the Niladri Bije fiasco last year, alleged the district administration is excessively interfering in the temple ritual process.
Notably, some servitors had an altercation with Puri Collector during the Niladri Bije rituals last year when he confronted some servitors and their kin while alighting from the Taladhwaja chariot in clear violation of High Court and Sri Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) orders.
