http://www.telegraphindia.com/1070419/asp/jamshedpur/story_7664867.asp
Entry 'eyewash' case in court OUR CORRESPONDENT Cuttack, April 18: What was being hailed as a "victory of law over tradition" is now being labelled as an "eyewash". Acting on a fresh petition from the Dalit community, Orissa High Court today directed the state government to submit a report on public access into the Jagannath Temple at Keradagada in Kendrapara district. "The collector should submit a report in the court, in a sealed cover, by Monday," was what the two-judge bench of Chief Justice A.K. Ganguly and Justice N. Prusty has ordered the temple authorities. The court has also fixed May 7 as the petition hearing date. . On December 5 last year, the high court had ruled that every Hindu, irrespective of caste, could enter a temple and offer puja. On January 28 this year, the district administration, too, claimed caste-based practices had been "buried" and harmony was "restored" in Keradagada with the entry of "lower" castes into the temple. But, advocate Akshay Kumar Mallik today filed a fresh petition calling the current way of entry of Dalits, an "eye-wash". "Though the Dalits had been allowed to enter the temple, darshan still eludes them," the petition read. The petition added that the Dalits areallowed to see the deity only from a distance of 30 ft, while the "upper" castes had free access beyond the barrier. Thus, there have been virtually no change in the situation except for an iron grille that had replaced a wall with nine holes, through which the Dalits are expected to see the deities and offer puja.
