Bhubaneswar, March 9: Senior IAS officer and energy secretary Suresh Mohapatra today took charge of the chief administrator of the Shree Jagannath temple in Puri.

After taking the reins as the temple's chief administrator, Mohapatra said: 'My first priority is how to make Nabakalebar a successful event. I will seek co-operation from all sections of servitors and the district administration to organise the event in a co-ordinated manner.'

Besides, Mohapatra called a meeting of all sections of servitors to sort out their differences before the beginning of the bana jaga yatra, (the exercise to find out woods for making the idols of Lord Jagannath) scheduled to start on March 29. The meeting was going on till the time of filing the report.

The ongoing rift between two powerful sections of daitapatis (servitors) is yet to be sorted out with barely 20 days left for the bana jaga yatra, the search for daru (tree) for making the Trinity's idols.

The daitapatis are one sect of servitors without whom the Nabakalebar yatra cannot be performed. The yatra to be held on March 29 marks the beginning of the Nabakalebar festival of Lord Jagannath.

One section of daitapatis, led by senior daitapati Jagannath Swain Mohapatra, had earlier left the meeting called by the Daitapati Niyog, headed by another stalwart, Ramakrushna Das Mohapatra.

Swain Mohapatra is aggrieved that the younger daitapatis are not being given due recognition in the Nabakalabar yatra. 'We should play the role of a mentor. The younger daitapatis should be given an important role to take the tradition forward,' said Swain Mohapatra.

Ramakrushna Das Mohapatra said: 'We have formed the Nabakalebar committee. We have decided to give due recognition to the youths. We will also find out why Mohapatra and some others are aggrieved.' Das Mohapatra said.

The daitapatis are also aggrieved as the state government is yet to sort out their demand for fair compensation to them for losses suffered in the last year's rath yatra. 'We have asked the government to give us Rs 6 crore as it would be distributed among 200 families. The assurance to pay us an amount of Rs 40 lakh will not serve the purpose,' said a senior servitor.

In yet another development, Rourkela's BJP MLA Dillp Ray today met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi and sought the central government's support in organising the Nabakalabar smoothly.

The BJP leaders urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to facilitate the setting up of a 200-bed Army hospital during the rath yatra, start more special trains to Puri and ensure early completion of the four-laning of the road connecting Bhubaneswar with Puri.