Bhubaneswar, September 15:The Jagannath temple in Puri, one of the most revered Hindu shrines, could soon become disabled friendly. Temple authorities are planning to allow wheel chair-bound devotees inside the premises, a temple official said.
“A proposal was made during a meeting earlier to make special arrangements for disabled devotees. Whether to allow wheel chairs or make other arrangements — we will take a decision in this regard soon,” Laxmidhar Pujapanda, the temple’s press relations officer, told IANS.
The 12th century temple in Puri town of Orissa, considered one of the four temples that Hindu devotees must visit during their lifetime, has a strict entry code. The entry of non-Hindus or people wearing caps and leather belts is strictly prohibited.
A disabled person cannot go into the temple on a wheelchair. But the temple authorities do allow entry to disabled, old and paralyzed people with the help of family members and temple servitors. However, some organisations working for the disabled have demanded that wheel chair-bound devotees be allowed entry.
“The Lord (Jagannath) himself is limbless. But the anomaly is that wheel chair-bound limbless devotees can’t have access to the Lord,” said Ravi Tripathy, a handicapped and disabled rights activist.
The rights forums have also demanded ramps in the shrine.
Pujapanda said wheel chairs from outside would not be allowed. If wheel chairs are allowed these would be provided by the temple authorities, he said.
“There is no problem in allowing wheel chairs but how can it be rolled on the temple steps. We would prefer wheel chairs which would be provided by the temple and they should not have any leather and other such items in it,” Pujapanda added.
Several disability rights groups had last month given a memorandum to the temple authorities to make facilities for the handicapped. A group of disabled has also decided to enter the temple on wheel chairs on Oct 2 – the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi – as a mark of protest.
“A disabled person often faces problems if he or she wishes to enter the temple. A handicapped devotee is often taunted by the temple servitors. Though the temple claims to have provisions to carry disabled devotees with the help of temple servitors, I being a woman would not like to be carried by male servitors,” said Shruti Mohapatra, the convener of the Women’s Cell of Disabled People’s International.
–Agencies