Tension prevails at Jagannath temple over queue system
Bhubaneswar, Oct 3 : Tension prevailed on Wednesday at Jagannath temple in Puri as a 12-hour dawn-to-dusk shutdown to protest against the introduction of a queue system for 'darshan' turned violent.
An irate mob attempted to barge into the 12th-century shrine, removed the barricades erected near the temple and ransacked the office of Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA).
The bandh call was given by socio-cultural organisation Jagannath Sena against the newly-introduced queue system in which the devotees have to enter the shrine by forming a queue at the Singhadwara, which is the main entrance to the temple. After having a 'darshan' of the deities, they have to exit through three other gates.
As part of their protest, they also ransacked the house of local MLA and Revenue Minister Maheswar Mohanty and hurled stones at Puri Superintendent of Police (SP) Sarthak Sarangi's official residence, police said.
Police said the protesters also ransacked a police outpost and an information centre near the Singhadwara.
The agitators staged a road blockade on the Bada Danda (Grand Road) by burning tyres, bringing vehicular movement to a grinding halt.
Police took Jagannath Sena convener Priyadarshan Patnaik under preventive detention.
"Ask the police why they have arrested me. I am ready to die for Lord Jagannath. The protests you have witnessed today is just the beginning. We will intensify our agitation further," Patnaik told the media persons.
In order to disperse the protesters, the police resorted to mild lathi charge and lobbed tear gas on the grand road.
Puri Collector Jyoti Prakash Das said the administration took quick steps to bring the situation under control and prevent any further flare up.
He said a peace committee meeting will be held to sort out the issue.
"We appeal to the people to maintain peace. The protesters became violent by being emotional. The district administration will sit with them and resolve the issue," said Central Inspector General Soumendra Priyadarshi.
He said while the queue system was introduced for the public on an experimental basis, a review would be done as locals opposed it.
Meanwhile, police conducted a flag march on Puri Grand Road after the law and order situation deteriorated over the introduction of the queue system.
Director General of Police (DGP) R.P. Sharma also reviewed the situation.
The queue system was implemented for the first time by the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) on an experimental basis on October 1 as part of the reform measures suggested by the Supreme Court. However, devotees have expressed displeasure over the system.
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NATO, others turn down US call for help in Hormuz: Trump
Washington (PTI): President Donald Trump on Tuesday said NATO and most of US' other allies have rejected his calls to help secure the Strait of Hormuz as the war with Iran entered the third week.
In a social media post, Trump asserted that Iran’s military has been “decimated” and he no longer felt the need for assistance from NATO countries or anyone else.
Last week, Trump had sought help from European nations and others who depend on oil supplies transiting from the Hormuz Strait to safeguard the critical waterway.
“The United States has been informed by most of our NATO “Allies” that they don’t want to get involved with our Military Operation against the Terrorist Regime of Iran, in the Middle East, this, despite the fact that almost every Country strongly agreed with what we are doing, and that Iran cannot, in any way, shape, or form, be allowed to have a Nuclear Weapon,” the US President said in a post on Truth Social.
Iran's attacks on Gulf nations and its grip on the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil is transported, have sparked increasing concerns of a global energy crisis and are unnerving the world economy.
“I am not surprised by their action, however, because I always considered NATO, where we spend Hundreds of Billions of Dollars per year protecting these same Countries, to be a one-way street — We will protect them, but they will do nothing for us, in particular, in a time of need,” Trump said.
He said Australia, Japan and South Korea too have turned down his call for help.
“Fortunately, we have decimated Iran’s Military – Their Navy is gone, their Air Force is gone, their Anti-Aircraft and Radar is gone and perhaps, most importantly, their Leaders, at virtually every level, are gone, never to threaten us, our Middle Eastern Allies, or the World, again,” Trump said.
He said that given the scale of recent military successes, the US no longer "need" or desires assistance from NATO countries, adding that it never relied on such support in the first place.
Speaking as President of the United States, the "most powerful" country in the world, "we do not need" help from anyone, Trump said.
The West Asia conflict began on February 28 when the US-Israeli combine conducted airstrikes on Iran.
The Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway that connects the Persian Gulf to the open ocean, has effectively been shut following the US and Israel attack on Iran and Tehran's sweeping retaliation.
However, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had said that from Tehran's "perspective", the strait is "open". "It is only closed to Iran's enemies, to those who carried out unjust aggression against our country and to their allies.”
Earlier in the day, a second Indian-flagged LPG tanker, Nanda Devi, reached the country after safely sailing from the war-hit Strait of Hormuz. On Monday, the first ship, Shivalik, reached Mundra port in Gujarat.
As of now, 22 Indian vessels remain on the west side and two on the east side of the strait.
Indian authorities are in constant touch with all the relevant stakeholders in the region to secure the safe passage of the remaining ships, officials said.
