Puri: The Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) has issued show cause notice to nine servitors of the Srimandir in Odisha's Puri in connection with the delay in rituals of the deities on December 28 after cease work by a group of Bhitarachha servitors.

The concerned servitors have been asked to reply within seven days explaining the circumstances under which the incident took place. They have been warned of action against non-submission of replies within the allotted time period.

Notably, deities of the temple had to go without food for over 12 hours on December 28 as the servitors did not open the doors of the sanctum sanctorum in protest against alleged manhandling of a servitor by police. As the rituals in the temple were delayed, the Mahaprasad could not be prepared on that day.