Bhubaneswar, May 12: Come the car festival, even the holy waters of the Narendra Pokhari (the holy tank) fetches revenue for the Jagannath temple. This year, the pond has been leased out to a private party for a whopping Rs 31 lakh.

People have slammed the decision to privatise the tank’s affairs as the devotees are left to the mercy of the operator’s agents.

“The bidder, who has paid more than Rs 31 lakh, has to create ways to rake in profit. As a result, the common devotee suffers. The temple administration, instead of providing basic facilities to the visitors, seems to be more interested in making money. Ultimately, the visitors suffer,” said a senior servitor.

“At all the places, a devotee is asked to offer money. Though it has been brought to the notice of the temple administration, no step has been taken to streamline the system,” said Guna Singhari, a member of the temple management committee.

Temple supervisor Buxi Pratihari said: “Visitors are not coerced. Devotees pay money to the servitors of their own accord. No bidder is going to recover money through tickets (a person is supposed to pay Rs 2 to enter the temple, which is inside the tank). It is through the offerings, made by the visitors, the bidder recovers his money.”

“Wherever you go, you have to pay money. You are apparently fleeced by few unscrupulous elements,” said Mitali Pradhan, a school teacher, who recently visited the chandan yatra.

The temple administration holds auction not only for the pond.

“Last year, the temple earned Rs 1.58 crore by holding auctions for various places,” said the temple’s public relations officer Laxmidhar Pujapanda.

A visit to the temple kitchen, a unique kitchen where food is cooked in traditional earthen pots for over 10,000 people, also costs money. A visitor will have to pay Rs 2 to a private operator to watch the cooking.

Nearly 700 people are engaged in the task of preparing 56 dishes. The kitchen complex has 32 rooms, where food is cooked with locally grown spices.

Pujapanda said: “Utmost transparency has been maintained during the tendering process. We try to address all the complaints we receive. A person is given the contract for a period of three years. The contract has an in-built clause for increase of revenue by 10 per cent per year.”

The tank becomes the centre of various religious activities prior to the 21-day festival. As part of the rituals, several deities from the temple — representatives of the Lord, Madan Mohan and others — are brought in processions to the pond for bathing every day. In the process, the tank has become one of the most sacred pilgrimage centres. For pilgrims, even otherwise, a holy dip is a must before entering the temple.

Situated nearly 2km from the temple, the tank is built over 3.24 hectares (nearly eight acres). King Narendra, the son of King Kapilendra Dev, built the 873ft by 873ft tank in the 15th Century. The tank has a landmass in its middle where a small temple is located. A concrete bridge connects the temple to the pond’s south bank.

Thousands of people from far-flung places throng the city during chandan yatra, which will conclude on Sunday. During this period, the making of three chariots for the car festival begins.

Considering the rush and eagerness of the visitors to bathe in the tank, the temple administration had been auctioning the pond for the past few years.

The private operator looks after the arrangements around the tank — right from putting up sheds to arranging for priests.