Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Puri, May 1:

Shree Jagannath temple Sevayat Sammilani urged the servitors' community to boycott Rath Yatra Coordination Committee meeting scheduled on May 2 by putting up posters at various places including Meghanad wall.

Expressing their resentment against the district administration over suspension of some fellow servitors during Niladri Bije last year, the servitor body released the posters requesting all the servitors to abstain from the coordination committee meeting tomorrow at Gopabandhu Ayurveda College.

"As per the decision taken at a joint meeting of servitors, various Nijoga officials and managing committee held at Koili Baikuntha on 27/04/2017, all the servitors are requested to remain absent at the second meeting of Rath Yatra Coordination Committee meeting", the servitors' body said in the poster.

"Your benign absence at the meeting will be guidance for entire servitors' community in near future", they mentioned.

Earlier, the servitors' body had released the posters on March 28 urging the servitors not to attend the first meeting.

It was mentioned in the posters that the district administration defamed the sevayat fraternity over the Niladri Bije issue last year.

The incident hampered the reputation of the servitors’ community globally, they mentioned in the posters.

It may be recalled that some servitors had an altercation with Puri Collector during the Niladri Bije rituals last year when he confronted them after the servitors and their kin alighted from the Taladhwaja chariot, in clear violation of High Court and Sri Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) orders. The incident had led to a delay in the conduct of rituals and pahandi of Lord Sudarshan.