PURI: With the annual Rath Yatra a few days away, the rituals for the grand event in the Srimandir began on Friday with Daita servitors taking charge of the deities from regular priests for about one month. The Daita servitors conduct rituals of the annual Rath Yatra from Snan Purnima till Niladri Bije.
The Daita servitors will prepare deities for the Snan Yatra, scheduled on Monday, by fixing Chhenapattas (kind of body armours) for Pahandi. According to SJTA sources, since Daitas will prepare deities for Pahandi, public darshan will be closed from Friday night till Saturday 2 pm.
Another set of servitors will set Charamala (ladders) to the Ratnasimhasan in the sanctum sanctorum to facilitate Pahandi of the deities. Further, in view of the Hati Vesha, the length of barricades along the Badadanda have been increased till market square expecting a large number of devotees.
On the day, collector Samarth Verma and SP K Vishal Singh visited the Srimandir and assessed the final arrangements for security of devotees and regulation of traffic for the Snana ritual. Over 70 platoons of police personnel and experienced officers will be deployed, said the SP.