Supakars (Cooks) hold Lord Jagannath to Ransom in Puri

For the second consecutive day, the supakars or temple cooks have decided not to allow selling of ‘mahaprasada’ inside Puri Jagannath Temple, bringing disrepute to the state, its age-old tradition and rich culture.

The Odisha Government led by CM Naveen Patnaik, which had recently announced a series of freebies for the unruly servitors, remains a mute spectator.

The strike call given by the supakars, was attributed to the recent arrest of their fellow colleague, who was found guilty of selling ‘mahaprasad’ outside the limits of Anand Bazar, which was illegal. However, the servitors and supakars believe that they are above law being the representative of Lord Jagannath and they have the license and mandate to have their say.

Despite a series of negotiations between supakars and administration, the former refused to budge, thus depriving the devotees of Mahaprasad for which they throng to Puri from far away places across Odisha and rest of India.