Bhubaneswar, March 1: Sevayats of the Jagannath temple in Puri have threatened to stop cooking mahaprasad, the cooked food offered to Lord Jagannath, in protest against alleged police atrocities

The Suara Niyoga, the association of servitors that cook the mahaprasad for the Lord, has informed the temple administration about its decision.

The association alleged that when a sevayat on last Friday came out of the roshashala (the place for cooking) and was going towards Ananda Bazar (the food bazar) with the mahaparasad, the police misbehaved with him, and he was subsequently arrested.

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 court has directed that no one can sell mahaprasad on the main temple premises. The offerings are to be sold at the Ananda Bazar, located beside the main shrine's premises.

Puri city deputy superintendent of police Pramod Mohapatra said: "We have to strictly follow the court's order. The sevayat was found selling the mahaparasad inside the temple. It violates the Temple Act. Based on the FIR of the temple police, we arrested him and produced him before court."

However, the Suar Niyoga dismissed the police claim. Niyoga secretary Padmanbha Suar said: "If they arrest us for silly reasons, it is better for us not to cook the mahaprasad at all." The sevayats have decided that they would continue to cook the khota bhoga, a small quantity of food for the Lord - which is later distributed among the servitors themselves.

Rabi Narayan Mohapatra, another servitor, said: "The police always target the servitors. We want to help the administration, but if it adopts an authoritarian approach, it is better for us not to co-operate."

The Puri temple, on an average, cooks mahaparasad for 20,000 people on any given day, and on special occasions, it prepares food for nearly 50,000 people. The roshasala has the provision for cooking food for more than one lakh people.

A temple official said efforts were on to break the impasse. Another issue that worries the administration is the rift between two groups of daitapatis (servitors) over selection of members of the Nabakalebar committee. The development does not augur well as the festival of Banajoga Jata (the process to identify the sacred wood for making the idols) is on March 29.