The Opposition Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Friday questioned the circumstances under which Lord Jagannath’s traditional tahia (floral headgear) allegedly came off during the Pahandi procession of the Rath Yatra, describing the incident as an unprecedented ritual lapse that hurt the sentiments of millions of devotees.
Addressing a press conference at the party headquarter here, Leader of the Opposition Pramila Mallik said the explanation given by the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration that the tahia fell off after becoming wet in the rain was “unfortunate”.
She questioned why only Lord Jagannath’s tahia had come off while those of Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra remained intact, and demanded that the state government apologise to Jagannath devotees.
Mallik also criticised Lord Jagannath remaining on the Baisi Pahacha (22 steps) for nearly 40 minutes during the procession, calling it another major lapse in the conduct of the world-famous Rath Yatra.
She alleged that the government had repeatedly failed to learn from previous shortcomings in festival management and had prioritised the security of VIPs over ordinary devotees.
Former minister Sanjay Dasburma alleged that irregularities in rituals had begun from Snana Purnima and claimed that centuries-old traditions were broken when Lord Jagannath was taken to the Nandighosha chariot without the tahia.
He also blamed poor crowd management for the stampede, alleging that excessive issuance of cordon passes and inadequate police deployment for crowd control contributed to the tragedy. He demanded Rs 20 lakh compensation for each deceased devotee’s family and better medical care for the injured.
Rajya Sabha MP Subhasish Khuntia blamed poor coordination among the temple, district and police administrations for the mishaps and urged the government to learn from the Rath Yatra management practices followed during former Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s tenure.
Puri district BJD president Umakanta Samantaray alleged that repeated mishaps over the past three Rath Yatras reflected the government’s failure to improve festival management and ensure devotees’ safety.