Lord Jagannath seen without golden attire during suna besha at the Gopaljee Temple. Telegraph picture

Balangir, July 13: The trinity had to be content with flowers and tulsi leaves on the auspicious day of suna besha (golden attire) , though the Gopaljee Temple here owns at least 25kg of gold and 30kg of silver apart from an annual income of Rs 12 lakh.

This has not gone down well with the devotees, who feel that injustice is being done to the deities by not performing suna besha.

The temple, where the deities — Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra — are worshipped, is one of the earliest shrines of the district. It was built in 1896 by the then ruler of Balangir Ramachandra Deo. The royal family used to manage the temple during the raj period. However, after independence and merger of the princely states, the temple management was handed over to the endowment department.

According to sources, the temple has at least 25kg of gold and 30kg of silver. Moreover, it has an annual income of Rs 12 lakh from the rent of some 100 kiosks around the temple.

Somanath Mishra, a local resident, feels that injustice is being done to the deities by not performing suna besha. “It is a very auspicious day for both the deities and the devotees, as the idols appear with the gold ornaments and give darshan to devotees. However, the temple does not follow the tradition of suna besha. The district administration should take note of this and start performing the ritual as soon as possible,” Mishra said.

Moreover, for several years no new chariot had been built and the deities used to travel in the same chariot. Only the upper part of the chariot used to be changed. However, following public demand, three new chariots were built this year.

Sadananda Sahu, a devotee, said: “Earlier, the deities used to share the same chariot. But this year, three chariots were built for the trinity. It is a welcome step by the administration. However, it is unfortunate that we don’t have the tradition of suna besha here.”

Balangir sub-collector Jyoti Ranjan Pradhan said he had no idea why the temple had not performed suna besha. “I have little idea about it. Suggestions are welcome in this regard and if people want it, there is no reason why suna besha cannot be performed. Maybe next year we shall have it,” said Pradhan, who also heads the endowment department.