Villagers to march to collector’s officeagainst Jyotiba temple priests

Kolhapur: Residents of Parite village in Karvir tehsil of Kolhapur district will hold a ‘justice march' to the district collectorate on Monday, demanding action against Jyotiba temple priests who were involved in a fight with devotees. The villagers have sought appointment of permanent govt priests at the Jyotiba temple.Parite village sarpanch Vijay Patil said, "The priests beat up the devotees in the area. The monopoly of these priests should end and permanent govt priests be appointed. Our protest march will start from Dasara Chowk at 11am on Monday and head to the district collector office. A written statement of demand will be given to district collector Amol Yedge in the presence of villagers."Meanwhile, Prajasattak Samajik Sewa Sanstha, a social organisation from Kolhapur, has written to CM Devendra Fadnavis requesting him to investigate what the security guards and police personnel were doing at the time of the fight between priests and devotees, and that the priests and guards found guilty be transferred to other places on priority.Dilip Desai, president of Prajasattak Samajik Sewa Sanstha, said, "Jyotiba Devasthan is a deity of the entire Maharashtra, and lakhs of devotees come here from all over the country. Jyotiba Yatra is going on. A video of priests beating two devotees in a temple went viral on social media. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis should ask the district administration to investigate the matter and find out what the security guards on duty were doing at the time. Also, the guilty employees be transferred to another place."