BERHAMPUR:A devotee died after coming under the wheels of a chariot during Rath Yatra at Lanjipalli in the city on Saturday. He has been identified as B Jagannath Reddy (28).
Baring one death, the festival passed off peacefully across Ganjam district. While chariots were pulled on the same day across the district, those at Surangi and Dharakote would be pulled on Sunday.
There has been a change in pulling chariots at Partha Sarathi Gosain temple in Jarada. While the chariots were used to be pulled before those at Puri start rolling, the pulling was started only after the ritual at Puri this year.
At Dharakote, where Nabakalebara of Lord Jagannath was held after 45 years, thousands of devotees congregated to have a glimpse of the new idol. Though the chariot will be pulled on Sunday, ‘pahandi’ and other rituals were performed on Saturday.
Sulakhyana Gitanjali Devi, 18-year-old crown princess of Dharakote king Kishore Chandra Singhdeo, performed ‘chhera pahanra’ and other rituals. Sulakhyana has been performing the ritual after her father expired when she was 13-year-old.
The festival was held on a grand scale at different places in the Silk City.