CUTTACK: Amidst devotional fervour, the first three logs of wood to be used in construction of the chariots for Rath Yatra in Puri were sliced at the Government Saw Mill in Khapuria here on the occasion of Ram Navami on Sunday.
As per tradition, three logs of Dhaura tree were sliced after receiving the ‘Agyanmala’ from Shree Jagannath temple in Puri. The sliced logs will be used to build the three chariots - Nandighosa of Lord Jagannath, Taladhwaja of Lord Balabhadra and Darpadalan of Goddess Subhadra for the upcoming Rath Yatra festival.
The ‘Agyanmala’ was brought by a group of servitors from Srimandir in Puri who were also accompanied by the SJTA chief administrator Arabinda Padhee and other officials, at around 12.45 pm. The slicing of wood logs started after a series of rituals along with recital of hymns and blowing of conch shells at around 1.02 pm.
Considered an auspicious day, Ram Navami marks the beginning of the process of wood logs slicing in the mill which are then used in construction of chariots. Around 30 staff including mechanics, labourers have been roped in to complete the slicing of around 7,000 cubic feet of logs procured from Nayagarh and Bargarh forest divisions, informed OFDC Khapuria deputy divisional manager, Abhiram Jena.
Of the total 814 wood logs required to be cut for construction of the three chariots, the saw mill has so far received 261 wood logs and the rest will arrive soon, Jena informed.