Subhechcha Ganguly 
The well-known Dhabaleswar Yatra has been postponed this year out of concern for pilgrims’ safety, Khordha SP Sidharth Kataria, who is in charge of Cuttack SP, announced on Tuesday.
Due to worries about safety, the district administration has issued prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC. According to sources, a decision was made in this regard since the hanging bridge that connects the temple needs to be repaired and is in poor condition.To help with the suspension bridge restoration, the administration has restricted access to the shrine and closed 144 Sections. The action was taken in response to the 135 fatalities caused by the collapse of a century-old bridge on Sunday in Morbi, Gujarat.
Public safety is our main priority, Kataria stated in a statement to OTV. It has been deemed hazardous to use the bridge. Therefore, Section 144 will remain in place for a while so that the district administration can restore the bridge.
The capacity of the suspension bridge at Dhabaleswar has been decreased by the local authorities in Athagarh in the wake of the Morbi catastrophe. A maximum of 200 worshippers could cross the bridge at once. After that, the district administration made the decision to close the hanging bridge for one day (Tuesday) so that a complete safety assessment could be carried out.
On the other hand, some devotees who travelled to Dhabaleswar expressed dismay at the administration’s hurried shutdown decision.The venerable Dhabaleswar Yatra, in the opinion of the faithful, does not need to be cancelled. People used to travel by boat to the shrine when the hanging bridge wasn’t present. The authorities should restart the boat service so that worshippers can see the deity.
