A serious question is troubling priests who are battling a rat infestation at the Jagannath Temple in Puri. The rodents are wreaking havoc, nibbling away at the three deities’ valuable attires and flower offerings. The solution is simple: getting a loud rat repellent that will chase the miscreants away. But, the machine will also certainly chase away the deities’ sleep, claimed the priests. Neither can the temple administration risk letting the rats cause harm to the idols. Well, here arises the question: to keep, or not to keep (the rat repellent).
To make things more difficult, the servitors at the temple are also not allowed to kill or poison animals inside the temple. The priests at the Jagannath Temple are having a tough time. Speaking to Hindustan Times, one of them said, “The rats nibbling away the attire of the Gods has become a huge menace."
The rats racing inside the temple premises were making it difficult for the servitors to conduct rituals. “We have decided not to use the machine. We tried it in the sanctum sanctorum. During the product’s demonstration a few days ago, we heard a hum from the machine. The operator said the sound scares away rodents, but the servitors red-flagged it,” the temple’s administrator told The Times of India.
The report added that the rats were soiling the food offerings to the deities. There were concerns about the temple’s foundation as well since the rodents had burrowed their way deep into the gaps of the stone floor.
Having already refused the rat repellent that a devotee had donated to the temple to avoid disturbing Jagannath, Balabhadra, and Subhadra’s sleep, the priests are now demanding a steel grille to protect the idols.
The temple administration has reportedly come up with a solution. For the time being, they have reportedly decided to use narrow-headed pitchers with jaggery inside them to trap rats. “We decided to use narrow-headed pitchers and put jaggery inside to lure and catch mice,” a temple official added.
The officials might be able to release the rats from the temple’s sanctum once they are captured.
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