Massive devotee turnout marks Rath Yatra; chariots to resume journey on Saturday

Lord Jagannath devotees will get another chance to pull the chariots tomorrow as none of them reached their destination on Friday after Balabhadra’s Taladwaja chariot got stuck while negotiating a turn, causing delays that prevented the others from arriving at Gundicha Temple, 2.6km away from the 12th-century shrine.

”There is no major issue. It is not unusual for chariots to be pulled on the following day. All rituals were conducted on time. There have been no accidents or untoward incidents,” Odisha Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan said.

When Lord Balabhadra’s chariot came to a halt at Balagandi Chhak, Devi Subhadra’s Darpadalan was stopped at Marichkote in Puri town. Meanwhile, Lord Jagannath’s Nandighosh chariot was only symbolically pulled as part of the ritual and remains parked near the main temple.

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Explaining the delay, the Minister said, ”Due to favourable weather conditions, the number of devotees was nearly one and a half times higher than usual. Those who came specifically to pull Lord Jagannath’s chariot will have the opportunity to do so tomorrow.” The minister announced that chariot pulling was suspended for the day at 8 pm.

He said all the rituals were completed in accordance with the schedule.

The Pahandi and chariot pulling began on schedule, but the chariots could not reach their destination due to issues with the movement of Lord Balabhadra’s chariot.

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Earlier, Governor Hari Babu Kambhampati, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, and many other dignitaries joined the devotees and were among those who pulled the chariots of Lord Jagannath, Devi Subhadra and Lord Balabhadra.

Amidst chanting of ’Jai Jagannath’ and ’Hari Bol’, beating of cymbals and blowing of trumpets and conch shells, the ’Taladwaja’ chariot of Lord Balabhadra first started rolling at 4.08 PM. It was followed by Devi Subhadra’s ’Darpadalan’ chariot and finally Lord Jagannath’s ’Nandighosh’.

While devotees were pulling the chariots, priests surrounded the deities on the chariots as the procession made its way through the Grand Road of this temple town.

While thousands of people pulled the chariots, lakhs of others also reached the seaside temple town to participate in the festival.

An estimated one million devotees gathered in Puri for the annual Rath Yatra, officials said.

The chariot pulling commenced after Puri’s titular king, Gajapati Maharaja Divyasingha Deb, performed the ritual of Chhera Pahanra (sweeping of the chariots).

Wooden horses of different colours were fitted on three chariots before they were pulled by the devotees.

Earlier, the trinity — Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra and Lord Jagannath — had ascended their respective chariots after over two-hour long ceremonial ’Pahandi’ ritual here on Friday.

During ’Pahandi’, the three wooden idols were carried to the chariots from the 12th-century temple.

Odissi dancers, folk artistes, musicians, and cultural troupes from across the state performed before the deities during the Pahandi procession.

The Shankaracharya of Govardhan Peeth, Swami Nischalananda Saraswati, along with selected disciples, visited three chariots after the deities were placed on them.

The 81-year-old seer came near the chariots in a wheelchair. The Shankaracharya’s visit is also part of the Rath Yatra rituals.

Union Ministers Dharmendra Pradhan, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Puri MP Sambit Patra, Odisha ministers and many others witnessed the ceremonial Pahandi, one of the major attractions of Rath Yatra.

The festival was held amid unprecedented security arrangements with the deployment of around 10,000 personnel of Odisha Police, central armed police force, NSG and others.

”We made all possible arrangements for the smooth conduct of Rath Yatra,” DGP Y B Khurania told reporters, adding that over 275 AI-enabled CCTV cameras were installed to keep a watch on the crowd.

Union Ministers Dharmendra Pradhan and Gajendra Singh Shekhawat participated in the celebrations and offered prayers to Lord Jagannath, joining lakhs of devotees gathered to witness the grand procession of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra, and Devi Subhadra.

Speaking to the media, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan says, “The first ritual of the Jagannath Yatra has been completed. All three siblings have reached the chariots… I am satisfied with the arrangements made by the state government…”

Earlier in the day, Union Ministers Pradhan and Shekhawat visited and appreciated the state-of-the-art Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC) in Puri, developed by the Odisha Police in collaboration with the homegrown startup IG Drones.

The ICCC has been pivotal in ensuring safety and efficiency during the world-famous Rath Yatra, marking a significant milestone in modernised crowd and security management with 500 CCTVs, drones, anti-drone systems, and AI analytics.