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Cuttack temples set to restart animal sacrifice

CUTTACK: Notwithstanding the fact that animal sacrifices have stopped in all Cuttack temples during Durga puja, the oldest Kali temple in Bidyadharpur locality of Cuttack city is all set to restart the age-old practice from this year.

“At least five persons have wished to offer sacrificial goats at the altar of the Goddess on Friday night when the rituals of Kali puja would begin around 12 O’clock midnight”, said the temple priest Santosh Kumar Chatterjee.

Kali puja in Bidyadharpur is believed to be the oldest in Cuttack and arguably began much before the Durga puja concept invaded into the millennium city.

Like Durga puja, Kali puja too began here by Bengali communities.

Following instructions from the district collector in 2003, the age-old practice to propitiate the Goddess here had reportedly stopped. In fact the local administration had claimed that no animal sacrifices are done at any of the places of worship in the city.

But Chattarjee who has been associated with the Kali temple of Bidyadharpur since 1973 pointed out that although, the number of the goats sacrificed at the altar had reduced marginally, the practice was never discontinued. “At least two goats of the local puja committee are sacrificed every year”, he said.

Chatterjee said never ever the district administration has stopped us from doing so. We have also not received any communiqué form the local police station in this regard. “In fact a senior officer of the local police station offered a goat for sacrifice last year which has encouraged other common people to come forward to do the same”, he asserted. Local puja committee head Mahendra Kumar Panda when contacted said: “animal sacrifices in the Kali temple here is an age-old practice and it has been continuing for the past 500 years”. How can we stop it now, he asked?

But the Chauliaganj police station inspector S.N. Behera when contacted, he claimed that animal sacrifices are not done at Bidyadharpur temple. It has been stopped since long, he said.

Meanwhile, People for Animal, a State-level social organisation which has been campaigning against the animal sacrifices in places of worship has taken strong note of the ill-practice. “In the name of animal sacrifices to propitiate the Goddess, the sacred places of shrines are turning out to slaughter houses which is sending a wrong message in the society”, said Sanjib Das, the member secretary of the social organisation.

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