PURI: Two chariots of Trinity - Darpadalan of Devi Subhadra and Nandighosh of Lord Jagannath - were pulled by enthusiastic devotees, amid chanting of holy hymns, to the destination of Gundicha temple on Sunday morning. The pulling of two chariots was stopped by the administration on Saturday as evening set in. However, Taladhwaja of Balabhadra had reached the temple.
The pulling of chariots started at around 9 am with the devotees jostling to touch the ropes.
While Darpadalan was pulled from Badasankha, Nandighosh restarted its journey from Balagandi square to Gundicha temple. Amid tight security, the two chariots reached Mausi Maa temple two hours later.
The rhythmic movement of ‘Ghantuas’ who beat the cymbals on board the chariots and satires by ‘Dahukas’ (charioteers) encouraged the devotees. A cool climate, unlike Saturday when humidity had made life miserable, added to the thrill of celebration of lakhs of devotees.
On Saturday, the devotees were peeved over the short length of ropes as a major part of it was within the extended security cordon. Besides, lack of road clearance had slowed down the speed of chariots, said Kasinath, one of the volunteers associated with chariot pulling arrangements.
However, a large number of devotees who reached at the event late was excited as they got a chance to pull the chariots on Sunday.
The deities would spend the night on chariots where the rituals would be performed by the servitors. As per festival schedule, the Trinity would be escorted in ‘Goti Pahandi’ to the sanctum sanctorum of Gundicha temple late on Monday evening.
Stampede Victims Identified
Puri: The two women devotees, who lost their lives in Saturday’s stampede during Rath Yatra, were identified as Susila Samantray and Nirmala Baral. While Susila (70) belongs to Barapada village under Pattamundai police limits of Kendrapara district, Nirmala (50) is from Madhyakhand under Sarankul police limits of Nayagarh district. Sunanda Rout (35), who drowned in sea on Saturday, belongs to Keonjhar. All three bodies were handed over to family members on Sunday after post-mortem. Meanwhile, the six injured devotees have been shifted from Puri Hospital to SCB Medical College and Hospital in critical condition. Four of them, including a woman, were admitted to ICU, said hospital sources. Meanwhile, Chief Administrator of Sri Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) Suresh Chandra Mahapatra has sought reports from the police and hospital authorities on the three deaths. Insurance will be provided based on the reports, he added. Kin of each deceased will be provided ` five lakh cash compensation, as was announced by the administration before Yatra.