About three lakh devotees from different parts of the State thronged Sakhigopal temple, 20 km away from Puri, for the famous ‘Radha Pada’ darshan on the occasion of ‘Anla Navami’ on Monday.
As per tradition, ‘Radha Pada’ darshan is observed every year on ‘Sukla Navami’ in the holy month of Kartik. This is the only day when people get a chance to look at Radha’s feet which otherwise remains covered throughout the year. It is called the ‘Odiyani’ besha of Goddess Radha.
All the rituals were carried out as per tradition and in time. The district administration had made elaborate arrangements to ensure peaceful darshan. Fourteen platoons of police forces and 150 police officers were deployed toprevent any untoward incident.
Puri SP Anup Kumar Sahoo and District Magistrate NK Nayak supervised the arrangements. For convenience of devotees, a barricade had been installed by the Public Works Department. Arrangements for non-stop power and drinking water supply had been made by the departments concerned. In the evening, cultural programmes were organised.