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Time of India

Question raised over timing of Puri temple servitor's suspension

Bhubaneswar: Puri shrine administration's 30-day suspension of Daitapati servitor Ramakrushna Dasmohapatra over his alleged role in the Digha temple naming controversy has given rise to heartburn. The suspension, from May 11 to June 10, overlaps only briefly with the servitor's annual service period — June 9 to July 8 — effectively restricting him from just two days of active duty. "The suspension timeline makes no sense as Daitapati servitors do not have any assigned service to the deities during this period. Their annual seva begins with Debasnan Purnima, followed by Rath Yatra and Niladri Bije. This year, Debasnan Purnima falls on June 11, while Dasmohapatra's suspension ends on June 10," said Bibhuti Bhusan, a devotee from Puri."The servitor should have been suspended till the end of Rath Yatra, during which Daitapati servitors offer seva," wrote Ramanath Mishra on X. While Dasmohapatra could not be reached for his comment, SJTA officials defended their decision. "The servitor has been barred from entering the temple during the month-long suspension. He cannot perform his seva inside the temple on June 9 (Daitapati Prabesh) and June 10 (Senapata Lagi)," a senior SJTA official said. Some servitors supported the action. "Any harsher punishment would not have been appropriate," said Hajuri Ramakrushna Khuntia, a temple servitor.