Jagannath Puri. Around 40 chulhas in the kitchen of the world famous Lord Jagannath temple in Odisha’s Puri were found in a broken condition on Sunday. The concerned officials informed about this news. (Demolition in the Hearths of Jagannath Temple)
According to officials, these chulhas were used to prepare ‘Mahaprasad’ and this offering is offered to Lord Jagannath in the ‘Ros Ghar’ (kitchen house). Let us tell you that this is the largest kitchen in the world. About 300 quintals of rice is made here daily.
40 chulhas vandalized
After visiting the kitchen along with Superintendent of Police VK Singh, area district officer Samarth Verma said, “Around 40 chulhas of Ros Ghar have been vandalised. We have summoned a report in this regard and strict action will be taken against those responsible for this.”
Investigation of CCTV footage continues
He said that the CCTV footage of the temple is being examined to identify and nab the accused. Samarth Verma further said that a joint inquiry has been ordered by the police and the temple authorities. He also told that due to this incident, the work of distribution of prasad for the devotees will be affected slightly. With this it has also been claimed that the situation will be normalized in 2 days.
Samarth Verma said that the rituals in the temple would not be affected in any way as only one or two “kotha chulhas” have been vandalized, on which the prasad is offered to Lord Jagannath by the temple administration while the remaining chulhas are safe.
The incident led to a delay of about 30 minutes in offering ‘gross dhoop (morning enjoyment)’ to Lord Jagannath, the official said.
Let us tell you that according to the 12th century temple documents, there are a total of 240 stoves in the temple, out of which 40 have been damaged (Demolition in the Hearths of Jagannath Temple). He said that only ‘souras’ (cooks who cook food) are allowed into the kitchen and it is suspected that some sevadars may have been involved in the sabotage of ‘chulhas’ on Saturday night as the traditional rituals were not followed. There was some debate about doing this.
Officials said that ‘Mahaprasad’ is made only in earthen pots. After this incident of vandalism, the concern about the security of the temple has increased.
