Political slugfest over sevayat’s mishap in Lingaraj temple | Bhubaneswar News
Bhubaneswar: A day after a servitor fell from Lingaraj Temple while carrying the Mahadeepa atop the temple on Mahashivratri, a political blame game started on Thursday with opposition BJD and Congress holding BJP govt responsible. The BJP hit back, saying it was unfortunate that politics was being done over religion.
Servitor Jogendra Samartha (58) sustained injuries after he fell from a height of 20-ft while climbing Lingaraj Temple carrying the torch to light the ceremonial lamp. He was taken to the Capital Hospital. Chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi went to meet him there and also enquired about his condition.
Demanding a probe into the incident, Bhubaneswar mayor Sulochana Das said, “Every year, sand used to be spread to prevent slipping. But this year, probably the administration forgot to spread sand, leading to the accident. There should be an enquiry to find out the reason for the accident,” Das said.
Criticising the state govt, OPCC president Bhakta Charan Das said, “The incident is unfortunate, and the BJP govt is answerable to people for this. A similar incident took place during Rath Yatra in Puri that hurt the sentiments of lakhs of devotees. We are demanding two white papers on these two incidents.”
Reacting to the allegations, local MLA Babu Singh said, “Doing politics on religion and Lord Lingaraj is unfortunate. The mayor herself was present in the temple during the day and looked after the arrangements. If she noticed any lacuna or mismanagement, why did she not rectify it? Is she not part of the administration?”
Apart from the political blame game, the incident triggered mudslinging among servitor groups, while the son of the injured servitor alleged the incident took place due to lack of proper safety arrangements by the administration.
President of Brahmana Nijog, Narayan Mohapatra, said due to excess ghee in the ‘mashal’ (torch), Samartha’s grip loosened. Jogendra Samartha is an expert climber, and he climbs the temple top once every fortnight, Mohapatra said.
The Mekap servitor, who made the torch denied the allegation of excess ghee. “If that was the case, why did he not raise the issue earlier?,” said Niranjan Mekap, another servitor.
Servitor Jogendra Samartha (58) sustained injuries after he fell from a height of 20-ft while climbing Lingaraj Temple carrying the torch to light the ceremonial lamp. He was taken to the Capital Hospital. Chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi went to meet him there and also enquired about his condition.
Demanding a probe into the incident, Bhubaneswar mayor Sulochana Das said, “Every year, sand used to be spread to prevent slipping. But this year, probably the administration forgot to spread sand, leading to the accident. There should be an enquiry to find out the reason for the accident,” Das said.
Criticising the state govt, OPCC president Bhakta Charan Das said, “The incident is unfortunate, and the BJP govt is answerable to people for this. A similar incident took place during Rath Yatra in Puri that hurt the sentiments of lakhs of devotees. We are demanding two white papers on these two incidents.”
Reacting to the allegations, local MLA Babu Singh said, “Doing politics on religion and Lord Lingaraj is unfortunate. The mayor herself was present in the temple during the day and looked after the arrangements. If she noticed any lacuna or mismanagement, why did she not rectify it? Is she not part of the administration?”
Apart from the political blame game, the incident triggered mudslinging among servitor groups, while the son of the injured servitor alleged the incident took place due to lack of proper safety arrangements by the administration.
President of Brahmana Nijog, Narayan Mohapatra, said due to excess ghee in the ‘mashal’ (torch), Samartha’s grip loosened. Jogendra Samartha is an expert climber, and he climbs the temple top once every fortnight, Mohapatra said.
The Mekap servitor, who made the torch denied the allegation of excess ghee. “If that was the case, why did he not raise the issue earlier?,” said Niranjan Mekap, another servitor.
