Bhubaneswar: Putting an end to speculations over the venue for Jharpada Durgapuja, the Jharpada Durgapuja Samiti, on Sunday said it would shift the venue to a new location after organizing the puja at the same venue for the past 14 years.
The puja this year wouldn’t be held in a grand scale as in previous years, the committee clarified in a press conference.
The office bearers attributed the developments to political interference.
They alleged that after informing the Additional District Magistrate (ADM) about the reasons behind the removal of Jagannath Pradhan from the committee, the IIC of Laxmisagar Police Station imposed Section 163 of the BNS at the puja venue on the evening of August 19. This came hours after villagers and committee members had cleaned the site as part of the initial preparations.
As per the direction, both sides and the IIC of the Laxmisagar Police Station appeared before the court of the Additional DCP, Bhubaneswar on August 27 where it came to the light that the IIC had referred the present Jharpada Durgapuja Samiti as ‘former committee’ in a letter to the Advocate General of Odisha, they said.
After going through the documents, the court had directed that the Jharpada Durgapuja Samiti and Jharpada Welfare Association would organise Durgapuja at two separate venues instead of the traditional one, they informed.
The Samiti further alleged that despite the court’s directions, the Jharpada Welfare Association has been misusing the Samiti’s name, banner and receipt.
In this connection, the Samiti has lodged a complaint at the Laxmisagar Police station and forwarded copies to the DG, the CP, the DCP and the ADM.
The Samiti said it would soon announce the new venue for the puja and the date for ‘Mati Anukula’ (sacred clay collection) ritual.
