Bhubaneswar, Jul 11: Former Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition in the Odisha Assembly, Naveen Patnaik on Thursday urged Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi to take action against those responsible for the fall of the Lord Balabhadra idol during Adapa Pahandi rituals in the Rath Yatra festival in Puri.

In his letter to the Chief Minister, Patnaik said the manner in which Bada Thakura (Lord Balabhadra) fell on the "Charamala" during "Pahandi" was quite heart-wrenching and the incident has hurt many "Jagannath premis" (devotees of Lord Jagannath.

Describing Lord Jagannath as the symbol of Odia ‘Asmita’ (pride) and the identity of the people of Odisha, Patnaik said the incident that occurred during the ‘Pahandi’ of Lord Balabhadra was unprecedented and had never happened during thousands of years of history of Rath Yatra.

The BJD president also pointed to some “callous” comments on such a sensitive topic by some Ministers of the State government.

"The way some members of the Odisha Cabinet made comments about such a sensitive subject has doubled the grief of Jagannath devotees. The incident has deeply hurt the feelings of all the devotees of the Lord. Such an insensitive approach of the government could not assuage the wounded feelings of Jagannath devotees," he said.

Patnaik also requested Chief Minister Majhi to personally intervene in the matter and take necessary steps to ensure that such an incident does not occur in the future.

Also Read: Puri Rath Yatra: Five Servitors Injured During Adapa Mandap Bije Pahandi

At least five servitors of the Puri Jagannath temple were injured after Lord Balabhadara reportedly slipped on the 'Charamala' during Adapa Mandap Bije pahandi near Gundicha Temple in Puri on Tuesday evening. It appears that the servitors who were carrying the idol lost control of it during the ‘Pahandi’ ritual.

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