Odisha: SERIFED provides Basungapatta for Ratha Yatra, other rituals of Jagannath temple

Priya Ranjan Swain Published On : Apr 28, 2023 at 6:39 PM

Bhubaneswar: Odisha’s SERIFED has sent Basungapatta to Jagannath temple in Puri for performance of rituals during the upcoming Debasnana Purnima and Ratha Yatra festivals.

Around 300 kg Basungapatta was sent to the Jagannath temple from the office of the SERIFED at Saheed Nagar in the city here in the presence of Agriculture Minister Ranendra Pratap Swain, departmental secretary Arabinda Padhee, SERIFED President Bhagirathi Nanda, Director of Textiles and Handloom Shovan Krishna Sahu, SERIFED MD Saroj Kumar Patel and secretary Purushottam Dash, sources said.

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SERIFED Amlan has been providing Basungapatta to Jagannath Temple since last many years. Basungapatta is a special type of rope prepared from Mulberry yarns and then processed and coloured as per the requirement of the 12^th century shrine, said an official.

The raw materials are produced by the tribal Mulberry cocoon growers of Mohona and R. Udayagiri block in Gajapati District. The cocoons are processed at Silk Production Twisting and Utility Centre SERIFED Branch office at Nuapatna by the local Artisans for production of silk yarns, he added.

The artisans prepare Basungapatta by using Mulberry silk yarns, wood apple gum obtained from Koraput district and turmeric powder, sources said.

The Basungapatta is used for the performance of several rituals during the Snana Yatra and Ratha Yatra of Lord Jagannath and his siblings. Besides, Basungapatta is used for the preparation of Vijaya Dori, Paita and Rakhis at the shrine, sources added.

The market value of the Basungapatta supplied by the SERIFED Amlan to Srimandir was Rs 33,000 in 2000-01 fiscal and it went up to Rs 12,33,000 in 2022-23 fiscal, said the official.

Notably, SERIFED is the apex co-operative organisation of the state, established in1962, for providing safety net to the Tasar and Silk farmers of Odisha. It provides a marketing platform to the silk cocoon growers of the state besides other services as per the mandate.