JEYPORE: Sabara Srikhetra is gearing up for a grand Rath Yatra of the divine Siblings this year. Instead of one chariot, three chariots will be rolled out during the Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath, Devi Subhadra and Lord Balabhadra on July 4.
At the preparatory meeting of the festival this week, the Sabara Srikhetra management committee decided that ‘Pahandi’ ritual of the deities will be started at 10 am on the day and women would pull the chariot of Devi Subhadra.
While carpenters from Puri and Nabarangpur districts are busy giving final touches to the three chariots, tailors and painters are preparing coloured clothes and artworks to decorate them.
As many as 25 carpenters are working under the supervision of chief ‘maharana’ Sanyashi Babu of Nabarangpur to complete the chariots on time.
While the Jagannath temple was constructed in Koraput town in 1972, this is the first time that three chariots will be used in Rath Yatra.
Each of the chariots is 25 feet high and the Odisha Forest Development Corporation unit of Jeypore has provided logs for the purpose. All arrangements are in place for smooth conduct of the Rath Yatra, said secretary of the temple management committee Gadadhar Parida.
Last year, Koraput Collector had kicked off Sampark Rath, which moved round the district to collect funds and wood for construction of three new chariots.
An amount of Rs 15 lakh is being spent on construction of the chariots that started on Akshya Tritiya day.
Sabara Srikhetra is considered the most important temple of Lord Jagannath, next to Puri. Every year, wearing their traditional costumes, tribals pull the chariot to Gundicha temple, which is 200 metres from the Jagannath temple, on Rath Yatra.