Temple for special people

Sunday September 13, 2009, Bhubaneswar

Human rights activists have appealed to the sevayats in Puri and the Orissa government to allow physically-challenged devotees to access the Jagannath temple on wheel chairs
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The popular Hindu God Lord Jagannath of Puri, who's without limbs, happens to be a great symbol of people with disability. But ironically, people on wheelchairs have had no access to the Puri temple so far because the priests do not allow wheel chairs to enter the temple.

Among those not allowed inside are people on wheelchairs like Dr Sruti Mohapatra, a human rights activist, who was denied entry twice. She now wants things to change so that many others like her can catch a glimpse of the holy trinity.

"Lord Jagannath symbolises disability, so why bar persons with disability on wheel chairs to enter the temple," said Dr Mohapatra.

On the contrary, prominent temples like the Siddhivinayak temple and Guruvayur temple do allow people with wheelchairs.

Activists who have written to the administration a number of times in this regard wanted to organise a visit of people on wheelchairs to the temple on Gandhi Jayanti but now they have decided to appeal to the sevayats.

"Before any confrontation a discussion with the sevayats and the pandas will probably smoothen out things better because understandably they might have reservations about the materials in the wheel chairs, cleanliness of wheel chairs. So, let them have their own set of wheel chairs and volunteers who will come and help the wheel-chair bound persons access into the temple," said Mrinalini Padhi, a lawyer in Orissa High Court.

Sevayat leaders have told NDTV they have never objected to the differently-abled persons being carried into the temple by relatives or volunteers but are opposed to entry of wheelchairs.

Activists now propose to talk to ensure people have a darshan of the Lord on wheel chairs without having to be carried physically all the way.