Struck by the Morbi tragedy: Cuttack district authority clamps section 144 at Dhabaleswar temple

Bhubaneswar, Nov 1: Struck by the Morbi tragedy in Gujarat, the Cuttack district administration has imposed prohibitory orders under section 144 CrPc at the famous Dhabaleswar shrine ahead of famous “Bada Osha and Kartik Purnima” and closed the suspension bridge connecting the temple for the devotees.

The administration has also banned the entry of the devotees to the shrine and closed the 245 meter long suspension bridge constructed in 2006 over river Mahanadi connecting to the temple for maintenance and repairs.

Sources said the cracks were noticed recently on the suspension bridge and a technical glitch was noticed on Monday forcing the authority to close the suspension bridge for the visitors and devotees and request the technical team from Kolkata to inspect the bridge.

The Dhabaleswar Shiva pitha attracts thousands of devotees particularly on the “Bada usha” and during the holy month of kartika, more particularly on the last five days of kartika month.

Normally the devotees visited the temple by boat over Mahanadi river and by road which is connected with the suspension bridge whose capacity is to handle a maximum of 200 visitors at a time.

The decision of the district administration to bar the devotees to visit the Dhabaleswar temple either by boat or through the suspension bridge has caused discontentment among the devotees who have planned to have darshan of the Baba Dhabaleswar during the Panchuka(the last five days of holy Kartik month).
The locals have urged the district administration to take all necessary steps and precautionary measures while allowing the devotees to visit the temple and have darshan of Dhabaleswar.

Official sources said the daily rituals of the Dhabaleswar shrine will however continue as usual