Bhubaneswar: Ekamra-Bhubaneswar MLA Babu Singh on Wednesday said strict action will be taken against the servitors responsible for halting the rituals of Lord Lingaraj at the Lingaraj Temple in Bhubaneswar. Calling the incident highly unfortunate, he said stopping temple rituals hurt the religious sentiments of devotees.

Servitors Meant to Serve, Not Decide: MLA

Speaking to the media, Babu Singh said servitors are appointed to perform rituals and not to make decisions on whether rituals should be conducted or not. He made it clear that those who stopped the rituals shouldn't be considered eligible to continue the temple service. The MLA urged all servitors to respect traditions and ensure that devotees’ emotions are not hurt.

Rituals Suspended After Dispute

The rituals of Lord Lingaraj remained suspended from Tuesday evening following a dispute among servitors. Due to the disruption, the scheduled evening rituals could not be performed. Later, at around 9:30 pm, the Badu servitors conducted Pahuda of the deity. As a result, Lord Lingaraj remained without food throughout the night. By Wednesday morning, no food offering could be made.

Dispute Over Kheera Auta Ritual

As per temple tradition, from Makar Sankranti to Kumbha Sankranti, special rituals, including ghee application, are performed to protect the deity from winter cold. The Kheera Auta ritual is held on the eve of Makar Sankranti. On Tuesday evening, preparations for the evening dhupa were completed, and ritual items were arranged by the Brahmin Nijog servitors. However, a section of servitors objected, alleging that essential items like milk had not reached the temple and temple officials were absent.

Ritual Process Comes to a Halt

Although some ritual items later arrived, the objecting servitors maintained that milk was still unavailable and insisted that rituals would resume only after the arrival of temple officials. Due to the disagreement, the entire ritual process came to a standstill.

Similar Incident Last Year

A similar situation had occurred last year on the same occasion, when a dispute over the Kheera Auta ritual led to Lord Lingaraj remaining without food. The repeat of such incidents has once again raised concerns over ritual management at the temple.