Former chief minister and leader of Opposition Naveen Patnaik on Thursday wrote to Odisha chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi, expressing his anguish and grief over the fall of the idol of Lord Balabhadra, the elder brother of Lord Jagannath, from chariot’s makeshift ladder (charmala) while being brought down from it by the servitors (sevayats) on Tuesday evening.

He urged Majhi to initiate necessary steps to prevent such incidents and ensure that the event’s sanctity is preserved. Naveen, a devout follower of Jagannath, was deeply troubled by the casual and non-serious remarks made by some ministers, dismissing the incident as a minor accident and a Divine Act of the God (Leelamayanka Leela)

In his letter, the five-time chief minister, Naveen said: “Lord Jagannath is the symbol of Odia Asmita (Odia Pride). He is the identity and pride of Odias. Lakhs of devotees from across the globe thronged to Puri to witness the Yatra. People also watch the festival on television and various social media. The mishap during the Adap Mandap Bije has deeply pained the devotees and saddened me a lot.”

The makeshift staircase (charmala), a slanting structure, is built to take the idols to the decks of the chariots and later to bring down the idols from the chariots to the ground to facilitate their entry into the temple premises during the Rath Yatra. Servitors do the job of taking the huge idols in a procession called “Pahandi Vije.”

Lord Balabhadra, elder brother, sister goddess Subhadra, and Lord Jagannath reached the Shree Gundicha temple on Monday after the devotees pulled the chariots during the two-day Rath Yatra from the Shree Jagannath Temple.

On Tuesday, the deities had to enter the sanctum sanctorum (Adapa Mandap) of the Shree Gundicha temple. The process began on Tuesday night.

The huge idols, weighing a few tonnes each, had to be taken to the temple after being brought down from the chariots one by one. When the Pahandi Vije was going on and Lord Balabhadra was alighting from the chariot (Taladhwaja), suddenly, the huge idol slipped and fell. In the process, nearly 11 servitors sustained injuries.

However, deputy chief minister Pravati Parida and law minister Prithviraj Harichandan who rushed to Puri maintained that it was a minor accident and the divine act of the Lord.

In his letter, Naveen pointed out that the light and non-serious comments of some members of the ministry on the issue have caused the devotees a great deal of
pain and deeply hurt their psyche.

Naveen said: “Mahaprabhu is the head of the Odias. He is the centre of their Faith. I appeal to you to take responsibility and ensure such an accident never recurs again. I have lots of faith that by taking some exemplary steps on the issue, you would try to assuage the aggrieved feelings of the devotees.”

In a letter to Naveen, the chief minister said: “Your suggestion will always be accepted with great honour. We will all work towards ensuring the completion of the Rath Yatra.”

Mohan Majhi said he was deeply hurt by the incident.