Devotees flag rat-repellent device that 'disrupts' deities' sleep at Puri's Jagannath temple

Temple authorities have now gone back to the earlier method of setting up rat traps to catch the rodents

The gods may be omnipresent and omnipotent but they too deserve a good night's sleep. This was the sole reason that devotees at the famous Jagannath temple in Odisha's Puri forced temple authorities to remove a rat-repellent machine that made a humming sound.

The machine, donated by a devotee was set up inside the temple in order to scare away the rats and the authortities saw it as a useful alternative to the elaborate process of setting up rat traps, a report in The Times of India said.

But the humming sound of the machine resulted in devotees demanding that it be removed since it might prevent the gods from sleeping at night, and temple authorities reportedly took congisance of the complaint and removed the device from within the temple.

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"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,” TOI quoted Jitendra Sahu, the temple’s administrator, as saying.

The Jagannath temple houses the revered deities Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra, and is also one of the Char Dham Yatra pilgrimage sites of India. The temple sees lakhs of devotees daily and as such the rat infestation is seen as a major problem.

Temple authorities have now gone back to the earlier method of setting up rat traps to catch said rodents. As it is forbidden to kill temple mice, the staff catch the mice and release them outside the premises. Poisoning the rats is also not allowed.

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The famous 12th-century temple has reportedly become a favourite haunt of rats and mice and it has been causing problems for the temple staff and also for devotees who come to offer prayers. The mice often spoil clothes and food offerings given to the deities and worshippers are also fearing for something far worse. The rats have also been able to burrow deep through the stone floor and as such, the staff and devotees alike fear for the sanctum sanctorum's structural strength, the report said.

Rats might have set up shop in the temple when it was closed to devotees for Covid-19, the report quoted a devotee as saying.