Bhubaneswar: Over 10,000 quintals of rice, donated by the people as offering to Lord Jagannath for the inauguration of Puri Heritage Corridor project in January this year, is now rotting at the Holy Town.

The Suar-Mahasuar servitors of the 12th century shrine have recently urged the authorities to distribute the rice among poor people.

The Naveen Patnaik-led BJD government had urged people of Odisha to donate rice and betel nuts as offering (Arpan) for inauguration of Jagannath Temple Parikrama Prakalpa.

Several vehicles were engaged by the state government to transport the donated rice to Puri town.

Around 14,000 quintals of rice from across the state had reached the office of the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) at Puri. However, the authorities concerned did not utilize the rice for any purpose for around a month.

After facing flak from several quarters, the authorities had decided to utilize the rice in the preparation of ‘Khechudi’ and distribute the same among devotees.

In the initial phase, the SJTA had provided around 4,000 quintals of Arpan rice to Suar-Mahasuar Nijog for preparation of Khechudi around four months ago.

The Suar-Mahasuar servitors have so far utilized around 3,000 quintals of Arpan rice. Over 10,000 quintals of rice with the SJTA and around 1,000 quintals with the Suar-Mahasuar Nijog are now rotting at the storerooms.

The Suar-Mahasuar servitors have claimed that the rice is no longer fit for cooking of Khechudi Prasad for the deities. They urged the SJTA chief administrator Arabinda Kumar Padhee to take immediate steps for distribution of the rice among the needy people.