Non-veg Eateries on God’s Route made Puri Priests Angry

BY: PRIYADARSHINI MOHAPATRA

May 13, JAGANNATHA PURI, ORISSA — Even though the Jagannath Temple administration has tried its best to conduct the 21-day Chandan Yatra of Lord Jagannath in a smooth manner, the priests are unsatisfied a lot. Presence of a number of non-vegetarian restaurants and the sale of onion and garlic along the grand road has irked the priests of the world famous 12th century shrine. They say the temple administration should have banned the sale of non-vegetarian foods along the grand road facing the Jagannath Temple till the end of the yatra, which is considered the longest religious festival at Puri.

The priests’ resentment is worthy of consideration. Their Lordship's entourage, including the priests, reached the Narendra pond (where the Lord enjoys boat-riding) by coming across a number of non-vegetarian hotels along the grand road. During the 21 days, the priests ferry the Lord’s representative idols from inside the Jagannath Temple to the Narendra pond in a lively procession.

The yatra, which kicked off a few days ago, is meant to provide the Deities of Jagannath Temple with a cooling effect from the sweltering heat of the summer. Everyday the priests bring the Deity murtis on well-decorated palanquins to the Narendra tank, where They play water sport on two swan-shaped boats.

“While carrying the Deities from the temple to the pond, the route is dotted with a number of non-vegetarian restaurants and onion and garlic markets. At times we step on the eggshells, onions and garlic that are thrown by the shopkeepers on the grand road itself,” said a priest, Japu Dash.

“We do not feel like carrying the Lords on shoulders by walking on a road laced with non-vegetarian items. This has been a regular affair for quite some time and every year we complain near the shrine administration to put a stop on the sale of non-vegetarian foods along the grand road. But no one is paying heed to our demand,” said another priest, Shyamsundar Mohapatra.

Jagannath Prasad das, an ISKCON devotee from England, said that the government should set an example by completely banning non-vegetarian foods from the abode of lord Jagannath. “Puri is the most pious place among the four dhams. So the state government should completely ban the sale of non-vegetarian items in the city,” he said.

This once again brought to the fore the frantic attempts made by the temple administration in previous years in order to make the grand road sans non-vegetarian items. Although the temple Chief Administrator, Suresh Mahapatra, last year pledged to wind up all non-vegetarian shops along the 2km-long grand road, his efforts ran into rough weather. The local MLA, Maheswar Mohanty, had some years back taken up the cudgels to maintain sanity and sanctity on the grand road by putting a ban on the sale of non-veg items, besides scrapping the vulgar pop music in the hallowed city. That too failed to pay dividends.