PURI/ROURKELA/BHAWANIPATNA/JEYPORE: Celebrations of Ram Navami were held across the state with religious fervour on Thursday. The festival in Puri was observed at the Sri Jagannath temple here as per traditional rituals. While the procedures began late on Wednesday night, a secret ritual signifying mother Kaushalya giving birth to Sri Ram, was also held on the day. The day also witnessed the commencement of Sahi Jatra.
This apart, construction process of the three chariots for the annual Rath Yatra began as timber logs were sent to the government saw mill at Khapuria in Cuttack on Thursday. The chariot construction is scheduled to begin from April 27 on Akshay Tritiya.
In Sundargarh district, Ram Navami processions were taken out amid elaborate security arrangements in Rajgangpur town and parts of Rourkela city. Around 20 akhada committees participated in the processions at Rajgangpur with attractive tableaux that kicked off at 2.30 pm on the day and culminated at Bala Talab pond with immersion of Lord Hanuman idol.
Meanwhile in Rourkela, the Ram Navami procession was split over two days. While 10 akhada committees celebrated the festival in Bisra and Bondamunda areas, another 10 took out processions in different sector areas of the Rourkela Steel Plant on the day. Another dozen akhada committees would take out processions through Rourkela main road on Friday.
In Bhawanipatna, a massive Ram Navami rally was organised on the day. Thousands of devotees across the town, took part in the procession amid folk dance and music. While the nine-day festival began here at Dukri Chanchra, yajnas were also held at Tarini and Kali temples here to mark the festival.
Similarly in Jeypore, a mammoth gathering of devotees thronged the Raghunath temple here to celebrate the festival. Later, over 50,000 devotees took out a four km rally from the Hanuman temple at Power House to Parabeda Jhankadei temple. As many as 11 platoons of the police force and 20 officers were stationed in important areas to maintain communal harmony.