Puri: The Adapa Bije Pahandi mishap in which Lord Balabhadra slipped on the Charamala makeshift staircase not only shocked the devotees of Lord Jagannath, but also pained servitors hugely.

Speaking to the media, Jagannath Swain Mohapatra, who is the chief Badagrahi of Lord Jagannath, blamed the servitors engaged in the ceremonial pahandi ritual for the 'sad' incident.

"Lord Balabhadra, the chief Lord, fell during pahandi due to negligence of servitors," he said.

Explaining the reason that led to mishap, the senior servitors explained, "The chhateni (rope made of patta clothes) was not tied to idol's top point properly. The number of servitors was more than the servitors actually required for the pahandi on the chariot. After the chhateni got loose, the idol of Lord Balabhadra slipped on servitors. A few servitors were injured and the Lord got up again."

He said that the senior servitors had been emphasising time and again putting a cap on the deployment of servitors on chariots.

"I have asked the district collector today for issuance of ID card to servitors, who are required for pahandi on chariots. Also, it is saddening that the servitors are busy in clicking photographs during pahandi. I am deeply shocked to see such activity during rituals. The pahandi ritual should be conducted with devotion and passion towards Lord. It's Lord's Grace, Lord Balabhadra did not fell on Charamala, rather on servitors," he said.

Criticising the photography act during the service, the servitor said, "These days the senior servitors are not seen in service of Lord. The rituals are being conducted by young servitors, who enjoy photography rather than service. Their intention is to take selfies with deities. They have no interest in conducting the rituals with devotion.

Ruling out of alleged lapses by temple administration, he said that the temple administration was not responsible for incident. Rather, the administration has kept its eyes open to monitor everything. It was servitors' negligence that led to this mishap.