Nearly 10160.39 quintals of “Arpan Rice ” collected from people across the state by the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on a special drive ahead of the inauguration of the Srimandira Parikrama project will be auctioned.

The Arpan Rice is the rice offered by devotees to the 12th-century Puri Jagannath Temple.

The BJD collected rice from the people with a promise that it would be used in the Mahaprasad (the cooking food offered to the Lord) and later distributed to the people free of cost.

However, with the change of government, the Mohan Charan Majhi government decided not to proceed after allegations from servitors and devotees that the rice collected from the devotees was not in good condition to be used in the Mahaprasad.

The rice is stored in the godowns in Puri and has become unfit to be used for the Mahaprasad of Lord Jagannath and his siblings.

To dispose of the rice, the district administration has held a detailed discussion with the servitors' association and temple officials.

District collector Siddharth Shankar Swain said: “The money that we get from the rice auction will be deposited with the temple fund. The tender will soon be issued with this effect.”

A committee headed by the sub-collector has been formed to oversee the tender process for disposing of rice.

Sources said mealers and individuals can visit the godown where the rice is stored. “On the spot, the rice will be auctioned,” officials said.Tthe temple administration on Tuesday suspended three servitors for using iron-made utensils (kadeei) to cook the Mahaprasad. According to tradition, only earthen pots are used for this purpose.