Puri Rath Yatra: Chariots get stuck midway; Congress demands CM's apology

Thousands of devotees who had thronged the Badadanda (Grand Road) in Puri to witness the grand Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath, his elder brother Balabhadra and younger sister Devi Subhadra were left disappointed on Friday after one of the chariots got stuck while negotiating a turn, causing delays and suspension of the pulling.

 

None of the chariots could cover even half the distance of the 3 km stretch of Badadanda. The Nandighosh Rath of Lord Jagannath was pulled about 10 meters to just respect the tradition and almost halted near Simhadwar (Lion’s Gate).

 

The holy town has transformed into a sea of devotees as the nine-day Rath Yatra festival commenced on Friday, marking the annual journey of Trinity to their aunt Devi Gundicha’s temple at the other end of Badadanda.

 

Opposition Congress has criticized the state government for the disruption of Rath Yatra. “The state government claimed that this year’s Rath Yatra arrangement has been better. But the chariots did not move. This has hurt devotees of Lord Jagannath. For which VIP the chariots were halted ?,” asked PCC chief Bhakta Charan Das.

 

He demanded that the governor, the chief minister and the  Gajapati of Puri apologise to the public.

 

Senior Congress leader and former PCC president Niranjan Patnaik said such disturbances in Rath Yatra had not occurred for 50 to 60 years. “During last year’s Rath Yatra, the pahandi of Lord Balabhadra was neglected, but no action was taken. Are the Lords dissatisfied for that?,” he asked.

 

Patnaik has also demanded that the governor, the chief minister and the Gajapati of Puri apologise before the Lords to save the people of Odisha from further loss.

 

According to a senior servitor of the Jagannath temple, everything went as per the scheduled plan till pulling of the the first Rath Taladhwja of Lord Balabhadra began at 4.10 pm. The Rath skidded off the track and went to a corner. It took about  1.5 hours to bring it onto the tracks. Unfortunately, it again went out of control and blocked the movement of the trailing chariots of Darpadalan Rath of Devi Subhadra. Finally, the pulling of the Rathas was suspended for the day around 8 pm.

 

Taladhwaja Rath of Balabhadra stopped near Balagandi and Darpadalana of Devi Subhadra was halted near the municipal market. Nandighosh Rath of Lord Jagannath was pulled a few meters only to maintain the tradition.

 

According to Dr Arabinda Padhee IAS, the chief administrator of Sri Jagannath Temple, the chariot pulling will resume at 9.30 am on Saturday. 

 

On Friday morning, priests performed the daily chores of the deities beginning with Mangal Arati, Mailum, Tadap  Lagi, Abakasha, Surya Puja and Rosa Homa and also offered Khichdi bhog. At 10.20 am, the ceremonial Dhadi Pahandi (queue system) began. Daita servitors escorted Lord Balabhadra to Taladhwaja Rath, Devi Subhadra to Darpadalan and Lord Jagannath to the Nandighosh in a regal procession accompanied by a concert of ghantas, mridangas and blowing of conch with Odishi dancers leading the pahandi.

 

Devotees went into a spiritual trance when the chariot of Lord Jagannath came out through the Simhadwar (Lion’s Gate) swinging his great floral tiara (headgear) in Pahandi. Devotees, drenched in rain, jostled among themselves to have a glimpse of the pahandi which was completed by 12.30  pm.

 

Shankaracharya of Puri Gobardhan Peeth Swami Nischalananda Saraswati came with his disciples and offered prayers to the holy Trinity in their respective Rathas. Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingh Dev arrived in a decorated palanquin near the festival site at 2.35 pm. He performed Chhera Pahanra (sweeping around the deities on the Ratha with a gold broom), a historical ritual on all three Rathas. It was completed by 3.40 pm.

 

Servitors dismantled the  Charamala (ladders) from the rathas and fixed wooden horses to the Taladhwaja Ratha of Balabhadra. At 4.10 pm, devotees were allowed to pull the chariots. Soon, Devi Subhadra began her journey on Darpadalan but could not proceed as the Rath of Balabhadra remained stationary ahead of her, followed by Lord Jagannath on his majestic Nandighosh.

 

Odisha Governor Hari Babu Kambhampati, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, Deputy Chief Ministers  K.V.Singhdeo and  Pravati Parida, Law Minister Prithviraj  Harichandan and other ministers of the state along with Union Minister for Education Dharmendra Pradhan and his colleague Gajendra Singh Shekhawat witnessed the festival.

 

Former Odisha Chief Minister and Biju Janta Dal supremo Naveen Patnaik who is also the Leader of Opposition has sent his Rath Yatra wishes in a video speech from his hospital room at Mumbai where he has undergone spinal surgery on June 22. During last year’s Rath Yatra, Patnaik who had just been out of power, surprised everybody when he reached just before the chariots were to be pulled.

 

Security had been tightened in Puri in view of the Pahalgam terrorist attack. Over 10,000  security personnel including RAF, NDRF, NSG, and anti-drone squads have been deployed in the town, along with AI-monitored surveillance.

 

The Navy, Coast Guard, and Odisha’s marine police vessels have been patrolling the coastline while drones and helicopters conducting surveillance.

India