Air India apologises for article stating non-veg served at Jagannath temple

Bhubaneswar: Air India on Saturday apologised for an article published in one of its in-flight magazines which stated that non-vegetarian dishes are served at Jagannath Temple, Puri.

According to reports, the wrong information was published under the title 'Devotion Can Be Delicious' in Shubh Yatra’s October publication.

“AI apologises for the error. Our intention was not to hurt sentiments. Shubh Yatra magazine copies have been removed with immediate effect,” the flag carrier airline said in a tweet.

However, the information has not been removed yet from the online version of the magazine.

“Said to be the largest in the country, the Jagannath Temple’s kitchen in Puri since its inception has had an army of 500 cooks and 300 helpers to serve 1,00,000 people every day, round the clock – which means almost 285 varieties of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes every day,” the description reads on the Shubh Yatra website.

The article had drawn criticism from different organisations and public in Odisha. Members of Jagannath Sena had also staged a protest in front of Sri Mandir against the article.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had referred to the ‘error’ as van “unfortunate incident” and promised to take up the matter “strongly with the appropriate authorities.”