The management committee of the three-and-a-half-century-old Jagannathpur temple in Jharkhand’s Ranchi, for the first time, has entrusted a private firm with the responsibility of managing its Rath Yatra Mela this year.

RS Enterprises, a private firm from Chandrakona Road of Bengal’s East Midnapore district, will allot spaces to various traders for putting up stalls and tents in the nine-day mela, beginning on June 20.

According to the contract, the firm will collect rent from such stall owners and will pay Rs 75 lakh to the temple management committee.

The move has got mixed reactions.

Praveen Shahdeo, a descendant of the founder of the temple and former ruler of Chotanagpur Thakur Aini Nath Shahdeo, alleged: “The poor traders who look forward to earning an additional income by selling small items at the mela will now be deprived of doing so.”

However, Ranendra Kumar, director of the local Tribal Research Institute who has been appointed as the president of the reconstructed temple management committee, denied the allegation.

“This arrangement of temporarily handing over the mela premises to a private party is nothing new and is done at many places across the country,” Kumar told The Telegraph, adding such an amount of money was never deposited in the temple account before.

“That firm can’t collect more than Rs 100 per day from small traders who would sell puja paraphernalia or other items from pushcarts orsmall stationary platforms,” Kumar said, refuting the charges that such traders would be deprived of earning at the mela.

Earlier, the committee was aware that some people were collecting money illegally from the traders who sold different merchandise or offered entertainment programmes or various types of rides, but that money never came to the committee, Kumar said.

The new arrangement at least ensured the committee would receive a handsome amount and the same could be utilised for meaningful purposes, he added.

Similarly, social and cultural organisations that offer free service at the mela would not be charged anything, Kumar informed.

The administration would also ensure sufficient security, besides making suitable arrangements for adequate lighting, drinking water and mobile toilets.

“We have also planned to give remunerations to many people who offer various types of service at the temple during Rath Yatra,” he said.

Thakur Aini Nath Shahdeo built the Jagannath temple on a small hillock near Ranchi in 1691. It was a sleepy settlement then and later it became a part of Ranchi city as it grew in size at a later stage. It is known as Jagannathpur because of the temple.