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The Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) in Puri has come under the cloud following allegations of serious lapses in disbursal of financial support of Rs 5,000 to servitors in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic. The Shree Jagannath Temple of Puri is an important Hindu temple dedicated to Jagannath, a form of Vishnu, in Puri in the state of Odisha on the eastern coast of India. The original temple was built by king Indradyumna in Satya Yuga.
The single bench of Odisha High court comprising of Justice K R Mohapatre Acting on a petition alleging inclusion of several fake servitors in place of genuine Palia Sebaks of Pani Apata Nijog, the High Court has issued notice to Shree Jagannath Temple Administration and directed to put up the matter after three weeks.
The court ordered, “As an interim measure, it is directed that any disbursal of the emoluments to Palia Sebaks of Pani Apata Nijog shall be subject to the result of the writ petition”.
Nijog secretary Vimasena Apata filed the petition. “In fact, none of them rendered Pani Apata Seba nor they have any Pali (allotment) to perform the aid seba,” the petition claimed, adding that in the process, genuine Palia Sebaks had been deprived of the financial benefit. Advocate Dayananda Mohapatra represented the petitioner in court. Pani Apata Nijog is the class of servitors who draw water from the temple well and supply it throughout the day for rituals of the deities. The petition has sought an independent inquiry to ascertain how fake Sebaks were included in the list of Palia Sebaks for receiving the assistance. The petition also sought direction for recovery of the disbursed amount received by these ‘outsiders’.
The SJTA had provided financial assistance to the servitors as their livelihood had been adversely affected by the closure of the shrine since March 20 following the pandemic.
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