Stop untimely Rath Yatra: Puri temple admin to UP govt

BHUBANESWAR: The Shree Jagannath Temple Admi-nistration (SJTA) in Puri on Monday urged the Uttar Pradesh govt to intervene and stop an organisation in Hapur district from holding Rath Yatra on non-traditional dates. The move follows SJTA's recent expression of displeasure over unti-mely Rath Yatra celebra-tions by International Society for Krishna Consciousness (Iskcon) abroad. The temple administration has consistently appealed to Jagannath temples across India and overseas to align their festivities with the of ficial schedule observed at the Puri temple. "As per the schedule, Nabajaubana and Netrot-sava will be held on July 14, and Rath Yatra on July 16. However, the organisation of Hapur district announced plans to observe Netrot-sava on June 13 and Rath Yatra on June 14. Westrongly oppose it," the SJTA said in a statement.SJTA chief administrator Arabinda Kumar Pad-hee has written to the Ha-pur district magistrate, re-questing measures to ensu-re that the organisation refrains from celebrating these festivals on non-traditional dates.Padhee pointed out that the Puri Jagannath Temple managing committee, chai-red by Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingha Deb, has resolved to oppose such deviations. "Rath Yatra must be observed strictly in accordance with tradition and scriptural sanction, in alignment with the Puri Jagan-nath Temple. Untimely cele-brations would hurt the reli-gious sentiments of count-less devotees across India and abroad," Padhee stated.The Hapur-based orga-nisation defended its deci-sion, citing practical chal-lenges such as difficulties in securing govt permissions.