PURI: Lakhs of devotees across faiths arrived at the Bada Danda on Friday to witness the grand Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath, Devi Subhadra and Lord Balabhadra. The teeming crowd notwithstanding, there was no space for chaos at the Trinity’s biggest festival, thanks to a huge army of selfless people volunteering to help the pilgrims.
Apart from the Puri administration, hundreds of volunteers of all age groups and from different organisations rose to the occasion to ensure that the devotees had a hassle-free darshan of the Rath Yatra which was being held with full participation of the devotees after two years of the Covid-19 pandemic.
While traffic was being restricted at different entry points to Puri, devotees began walking to the city from as far as Malatipatpur and Batamangala temple since early morning. By 8 am when Pahandi of the three deities was completed, the Bada Danda was chock-a-block with devotees.
With heat and humidity draining out people, many volunteers carried water sprayers on their back to spray jets of cold water every now and then. Several voluntarily distributed biscuits, cakes, glucose, ORS packets and cold drinks to the devotees, police and security personnel at regular intervals to keep them full and hydrated.
According to district administration sources, 785 volunteers of several organisations were roped in for the grand fete. This year, hundreds of volunteers including those from RSS stood along the 3-km-long Bada Danda making a human corridor for emergency services. The corridor was created by two rows of volunteers on each side for easy passage of ambulances and fire brigades till the chariots began rolling down the Grand Road towards Gundicha temple. Around 10 fire brigades were stationed at the Grand Road to spray water on the devotees.
However, due to humidity, many devotees fainted. They were immediately carried to the 31 first-aid centres set up on Grand Road (24 by NGOs and 7 by government) by the volunteers besides members of Bharat Scouts and Guides, NSS groups. “Rath Yatra is the biggest event in Odisha’s cultural calendar and on the occasion, our offering to the Lord of the Universe is taking care of his bhakts. We are here to provide basic food and water to people and ensure first-aid to those feeling uneasy during the Lords’ journey,” said Mandakini Sharma of Apanka Sebare, leading a group of 50 volunteers.
Student volunteers of NSS groups of both Cuttack and Bhubaneswar were also constantly on their toes, shifting ailing devotees to first aid centres using 146 stretchers provided by the district administration. Fifty-eight ambulances in readiness for critical cases. Chief District Medical Officer Pranab Shankar Das said, about 250 were brought to the district headquarters hospital alone in the afternoon. “All are cases of dehydration due to heat and humidity. They were given preliminary treatment and fluids after which they felt ok,” he said.
Beyond the Grand Road, locals served free food and water bottles to devotees passing through the narrow lanes.The Puri administration, on its part, had made provision for drinking water bottles for people on the Grand Road and free food at the temporary shelter set up in Jagannath Ballav Mutt. Similar arrangements were made at the railway station.“Over 100 voluntary organisations helped us in arrangements. The festival could be held due to cooperation of all,” said Sub-Collector Bhabaratan Sahoo.
A culture fiesta on Grand Road
Puri: As the Trinity stepped out of the Shri Jagannath temple to meet the devotees, not only was the Grand Road in front of the three majestic chariots decked up but artistes enthralled the devotees with their unique performances on Friday. A team of ISKCON devotees from Mumbai and Pune made a 35-feet-long ‘rangoli’ depicting the chariot decorated with various symbols of Jagannath culture like ‘sankha’, ‘chakra’, ‘gada’ and ‘padma’.
The ISKCON team has been making rangoli during Rath Yatra for the last three decades but they could not do so the last two years because of the pandemic. “We are happy that the Covid restrictions have finally been lifted and we got to make the rangoli for Lord Jagannath this year,” said the main artist of the team Mahesh Podadar who has been making the rangoli here for last 13 years. The ‘pahandi’ is considered incomplete without cultural performances and this year, besides Odissi and Gotipua troupes, an Odia artiste from Brindavan Balaram Das performed a peacock dance. Dressed up in peacock feathers, he performed alongside the Odissi dancers during the ritual.
In humidity and crowd, mask rule goes for a toss
Puri: As lakhs of devotees congregated at the Bada Danda for pulling the three chariots amid humid weather conditions, the mask request of State government went for a toss. District administration sources said nearly 10 lakh people turned up in Puri on the day. But a minuscule number was wearing masks. While the district administration appealed people to mask up, it could do little to enforce the mandate in wake of the large crowd and weather conditions. Not just devotees, police and servitors also gave the mask rule a miss.Sources in the district administration said the masks were handed out to volunteer groups, security groups and other organisations associated with Rath Yatra. “Standing in the sultry weather is physically exhausting. Wearing a mask would only make things worse which is why we could not force anyone to wear them, “said a senior official.