Cuttack, Nov. 22: Boat service to Dhabaleswar temple from Bidanasi ghat in Cuttack resumed today, providing a much-needed relief to devotees ahead of Bada Osha, a major festival to be observed on Tuesday.
Between two and three lakh devotees visit the Shiv temple across the Mahanadi river from here during Panchuka, the first five days of the Kartik month, which began yesterday, and Bada Osha.
Local boat operators had suspended the service to the temple for more than 24 hours to protest against the district administration's decision for compulsory insurance and registration.
"We have started the boat service after a discussion with the district administration. We had stopped the service because we were not able to complete the registration process because insurance companies initially did not agree to do cover us," said Baikunta Sutar, president of the local boat operators' association.
Sutar said no insurance company was willing to cover the public under the policy. However, the firms relented following intervention by the administration.
The boat operators have agreed to pay Rs 70,000 annually for the group insurance, which will also cover the public, and deposit another Rs 2,000 to Rs 2,500 towards registrationwith the district administration.
"We faced a lot of trouble to reach Dhabaleswar yesterday as the boat service was suspended. We had to hire a private vehicle and take a long route to get there. We had to shell out Rs 1,000 for the car to reach the shrine," said Umesh Sahu, a devotee.
Though the district administration had pressed into service two buses, they were inadequate to handle the hugh rush of devotees at Bidanasi ghat.
The district administration has deployed 16 platoons of police to maintain law and order during the rush of Panchuka. Around 60 traffic personnel, 106 assistant sub-inspectors, nine DSPs and 16 inspectors have been pressed into service.
It has also made it mandatory for boat operators to provide life jackets to the passengers depending on the river route to reach Dhabaleswar.
