Bhubaneswar, Nov 9 : Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) launched Sankirtan Satyagraha across the state on Thursday demanding the opening of all four doors of Puri Shri Jagannath temple for devotees.
The Congress said the temple doors were closed in March 2020 due to Covid restrictions. Though there is no trace of Covid now, the government is still hesitating to open all the four doors. Only two doors are opened now.
Devotees have to stand in queue for long time due to the non opening of all the four doors of the temple in this holy month Kartik.
The congress activists who performed Sankirtan from 9A M to 12 PM today in front of all Jaganath temples across the state also demanded the opening of Ratna Bhandar (temple treasury) for repair and assessment of the treasures in it, repair of Mathas and temples and return of the land illegally acquired by the government for the Vedant University before October 29 (Kartik Purnima ).
While the party activists held the Satyagrah in front of the Congress Bhavan in Bhubaneswar by putting the idols of the Holy Trinity, in Puri the supporters of the Congress held the satyagraha in front of the Singhadwara.
Similarly satyagraha was held in front of Jaganath temples in other places.
OPCC President Sarat Pattanayak said the government is delaying the opening of the Ratna Bhandar on some pleas or the other. Last time, when steps were taken to open the Ratna Bhandar, the keys were missing.
Now the government said laser scanning of the Ratna Bhandar would be done to assess the infrastructure strength.
The government, he said, is avoiding to open the Ratna Bhandar on some reason or other giving rise to the suspicion that the treasure inside treasury has been looted.
He said though on October 16 last, a six-point charter of demand was submitted to Odisha Governor through the Chief Administrator of Sri Janagath temple, Puri but the government did not pay any heed to it so far.
