Puri: In view of shortage of space in special room of Jagannath temple in Puri, Sri Mandir administration decided to auction the clothes donated by devotees for deities.

A four-member committee has been formed to auction the clothes that the devotees are donating in Hundi, informed the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) here on Thursday.

The move came to vacate the large quantity of clothes used by Lord Jagannath from the store room in view of shortage of space, the temple authorities said.

Few clothes are offered and in use of deities out of the clothes donated by devotees and the rest of the clothes are being stored in special room of Sri Mandir. Besides, the clothes worn by the deities are also being kept in the store after use. Due to shortage of space, the temple administration decided to auction the clothes, said SJTA Niti (ritual) Administrator Pradeep Kumar Das.

The devotees are offering various types of clothes including gamuchha, towel and shawl in Hundi as donation towards Lord Jagannath. As these are stored for years, there is no place left in the store room to keep more clothes. Initially, it was decided to auction the clothes donated by the devotees, said SJTA OSD Saroj Kumar Ray.

The four-member committee was constituted after a high level meeting held yesterday. The panel comprises of officer in-charge (ritual), OSD, deputy administration (finance) and assistant settlement officer as the members.

The clothes offered by the devotees have been separated from other clothes from the Hundi yesterday.

The clothes will be auctioned in presence of Handloom Assistant Director. Further decision will be taken after fixing the prices for auction, Ray said.

With the move, the devotees can buy the clothes of Lord Jagannath and keep those with them at their homes.