Bhubaneswar, 30 October (H.S.): The daily rituals at the historic Lingaraj Temple resumed on Thursday morning after a 24-hour suspension, following the intervention of the Samartha Nijog servitors.

According to temple sources, the morning rituals, including Mangala Alati and Kotha Bhoga (food offering), were performed as per tradition.

The rituals had come to a halt on Wednesday after members of the Samartha Nijog staged an agitation by refusing to supply raw materials required for preparing prasad. As a result, the presiding deity remained without food, and devotees were denied prasad offerings throughout the day.

The Samartha Nijog members, who are responsible for providing lamps, flowers, and other worship materials, were protesting against the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC). They demanded permission to set up shops outside the temple premises to sell flowers and other puja items, claiming they currently operate from seven to eight shops allotted inside the temple complex.

Due to the protest, the servitors on duty closed the temple after the Surya Puja and Dwarpal Puja, suspending all subsequent rituals.

This is not the first time temple activities have been disrupted over internal disputes. In the past, important ceremonies such as Shiva Pabitraropana and Raksha Bandhan rituals were also affected due to similar disagreements among servitor groups.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Monalisa Panda