Allow wheelchairs inside Jagannath temple

Discrimination in God’s nation...

BHUBANESWAR, Chinu, an autistic 10-year-old boy may not have the gift of
speech but is wise beyond his years. He wrote a letter saying: “Is it fair that
people without moral values and conscience can enter Puri Jagannath temple,
but people without limbs cannot?” This appeal moved eminent social activists,
including Mrs. Mrinalini Padhi and Ms Sruti Mohapatra to initiate a campaign
for the access of wheelchairs in the temple. The world famous 12th century
shrine, which is off-limits to non-Hindus, prohibits entry of wheelchairs, shoes,
belts and hats among a host of other leather-made objects and articles into the
shrine precinct .as they believe that such equipment are impure.

Making a fervent appeal to all concerned to join the campaign y, the

activists argued that major places of worship across the country and abroad
allowed wheelchairs. There are special measures such as ramps to facilitate easy
travel for the physically challenged, they said.
Both Ms Mohapatra and Mrs. Padhi as well as Mr. Rabi Tripathy are committed
social workers who have worked in the disability sector for decades. The
physically challenged devotees are facing a lot of problem at temple. "This is not
only undignified but also painful for a person with disability to be carried by four
persons into the temple, Some of them lose hope to visit the temple because of
their physical deformity," Shruti Mohapatra, a social activist said.

"Wheelchairs are not made of leather. So there is no harm in taking wheelchairs

into the temple," Mohapatra added.

Once sevayats of Jagannath Temple give a green signal, I don’t think the
administration will have any problem in introducing it,” Mrunalini Padhy,
another social activist said” This violates religious rights of people with disability,
which is a fundamental right. They must be allowed to worship the way they want
to," said advocate Mrinalini Padhi, a Cuttack-based social activist and lawyer,
who has taken the lead in the campaign. This not only prevents the disabled from
entering the temple but also patients and the aged.

They said that the media needs to campaign for social change for target
beneficiaries.

It is shocking that differently-abled persons should not have access to Lord

Jagannath who himself is without hands and feet, they observed. Mrs Mohapatra
narrated her experience: “A priest at the temple entrance scorned me and said
that my disability was due to my past sins and that I should not add to my sins by
entering the temple on a wheelchair.” This happened in Puri and also at
Sakhigopal temple, she said.

She presented slides and prayers at various other temples across the country ~
Shiridi Sai, Sidhhi Vinayak, Mumbai, Badrinath and Kedarnath. There is no
restriction in any of these places, she pointed out. , not a single temple in Orissa
has this facility.

We could easily petition the court of law in this regard but we want a social
movement and involve as many people as possible so that their mindset changes,
said Mrs Padhi.

The issue regarding access is not limited to the disabled alone, it extends to the
old and the ailing too, she added while addressing a press conference yesterday

. The activists said though they have written to the temple administration many
times about it, there has been no response Initiating an effort to change an age-
old prohibition at Jagannath Temple, a number of differently-abled pilgrims,
mostly with impaired legs, have urged the Jagannath Temple administration to
make available wheelchair facility at the temple. Activists fighting for rights of the
physically-challenged on demanded that wheelchairs be allowed inside the
Jagannath temple

"We want everybody’s support to launch a campaign to allow wheelchairs into

Jagannath Temple

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