Bhubaneswar, Oct 30: After a 24-hour disruption, the daily rituals of Lord Lingaraj in Bhubaneswar resumed on Thursday with the cooperation of Samartha Nijog servitors. The morning rituals, including Mangala Alati, were performed, followed by the offering of Kotha Bhoga to the presiding deity, restoring normalcy to temple proceedings.

According to reports, the rituals had come to a halt on Wednesday after Samartha Nijog servitors launched an agitation, refusing to supply raw materials for preparing ‘prasad’. As a result, Lord Lingaraj remained without food offerings for an entire day, and devotees were unable to receive prasad.

The servitors’ protest stemmed from their demand that the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) permit them to set up shops outside the temple premises to sell flowers, lamps, and other puja materials. Currently, they operate from seven to eight small shops within the temple complex.

Due to the agitation, the temple gates were closed after Surya Puja and Dwarpal Puja, leading to suspension of all subsequent rituals. Notably, this is not the first instance of ritual disruption at the historic shrine; in the past, ceremonies like Shiva Pabitraropana and Raksha Bandhan have also been affected by similar disputes among servitor groups.

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