Bhubaneswar, March 2: Mahaprasad, the cooked food offered to Lord Jagannath at the temple in Puri, was today not available for devotees as the sevayats (servitors) stopped cooking to protest against alleged police atrocities.

Worried over the development, the temple administration called a meeting of the servitors to sort out the issue.

District collector Arvind Agarwal and superintendent of police Ashish Singh were also present in the meeting.

Talking to reporters, Agarwal said: "Discussions are on to sort out the issue so that the devotees can get the mahaprasad. The administration will listen to everybody and sort out the issue amicably. Everything will go on in a disciplined way inside the temple." Suara Niyoga, the association of servitors that cook the mahaprasad for the lord, alleged that when a sevayat on last Friday came out of the roshashala (the temple kitchen) and was going towards Ananda Bazar (the food bazar) with the mahaparasad, the police misbehaved with him, and subsequently arrested him.

The association claimed that the mahaprasad pot, which he had been carrying, was too hot, and he had put it on the ground for a few minutes. But, the police claimed he was selling the mahaprasad to the devotees.

The police said according to court orders no one could sell mahaprasad on the main temple premises. The offerings are to be sold at the adjacent Ananda Bazar where cooked prasad is sold.

The Servitor Association president Bhagban Suar said: "As the Ananda Bazar is too small a place, some times it becomes difficult to keep all the pots containing the food there. Now the issue is where we will keep the hot food pots while bringing it from the kitchen. We should not be arrested for just keeping the pot inside the main temple. We are ready to help the administration, but our grievance should be addressed." As no mahaparasad was today available, the devotees were upset.

"I came from Mayurbhanj to see the Lords and get the mahaprasad. Though I had a good darshan of the Lord, I was deprived of mahaprasad, a must for every devotee," said Ramakanata Behera, 42, a resident of Baisinga in Mayurbhanj district.