PURI: Inexplicable delay marked the Rath Yatra as none of the three chariots could even be pulled half the distance from Shree Jagannath Temple en route to Gundicha Temple and chaos reigned supreme at the annual festival of the holy Trinity on Friday.
Erratic movement of Lord Balabhadra’s Taladhwaja and an uncontrollable crowd triggered a chain of events in which Nandighosha, Lord Jagannath’s chariot which is the last to be pulled, could barely move a few metres and had to halt for the night along Badadanda (Grand Road) at around 7.45 pm. By the end of the day, which was well into the evening, Taladhwaja was stationed at Balgandi Chhak, while Devi Subhadra’s Darpadalana had to be stopped at Marichikot.
Lord Jagannath’s chariot was pulled for just about 10 metres in a ritualistic manner and halted close to Singhadwara (Lions’ Gate) of Shree Jagannath temple. Temple chief administrator Arabinda Padhee informed that pulling of the three chariots will resume at 9.30 am on Saturday.
Law Minister Prithviraj Harichandan said despite some delay in the beginning, rituals were completed on time. “Everything happens as per the Lord’s wish. It is the Lord’s blessing that this year’s Rath Yatra was incident-free,” the minister said. As per the schedule, ‘pahandi’ or ushering in of the deities was to start by 9.30 am and end at 11.30 am.
However, the ‘dhadi pahandi’ of the Trinity began nearly two hours late and after Shankaracharya Swami Nishchalananda Saraswati offered his prayers to the deities atop their chariots, ‘Chhera Pahanra’ ritual by Puri King Dibyasingha Deb started at around 2.30 pm.
By 3.30 pm, the ‘charamala’ of the three chariots were removed one by one and wooden horses were fixed. While temple administration was at loss to clarify on what led to the delay in pulling of Taladhwaja, overcrowding and uncontrolled pulling of the chariot was witnessed right from the beginning.
Pulling of Taladhwaja began at 4.17 pm (17 minutes late) but it started swerving to its left and right which presumably happened due to improper handling of the four ropes of the chariot by both devotees and security personnel. As a result, the chariot could not take a straight direction, a senior servitor said, requesting anonymity.
Despite multiple directions from the temple authorities for devotees to move away from the inner cordon area, a large number of pilgrims stayed put and pulled the ropes. This led the chariot to veer off and had to be frequently stopped to straighten the ropes time and again. Due to the delay, pulling of Devi Subhadra’s chariot could only begin at 6.10 pm under flood-lights.
The number of devotees had swelled at the Badadanda since early in the morning and the teeming crowd which kept waiting outside the outer cordon area till 4 pm despite rainfall, rushed towards Singhadwara once the cordon was removed for pulling the chariots. A significant number of devotees gathered around Taladhwaja to pull it.
Owing to the delay, Nandighosha’s pulling began at around 7.45 pm for the sake of Rath Yatra ritual. Such was the overcrowding at Singhadwara that even Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi could not come down to pull Nandighosha and had to remain on the stage designated for him and other VVIPs.
Law Minister Harichandan said though certain morning rituals were delayed by 15 to 20 minutes, every ritual atop the three chariots was completed before 4 pm as per schedule. “However, pulling of Lord Balabhadra’s chariot was delayed because the chariot kept taking turns and the place was overcrowded with devotees,” he said. Due to favourable weather conditions, the crowd was 1.5 times more than the previous years, the minister said.
Over 700 admitted to hospitals, 4 in ICU
Bhubaneswar: As many as 724 people were admitted to different health facilities during Rath Yatra in Puri. Sources said, 485 were discharged after preliminary treatment while four were shifted to ICU after their condition deteriorated. The DHH also reported two deaths, but officials said those were not related to Rath Yatra
CHAIN OF DISRUPTION
Lord Balabhadra’s chariot moved erratically
It led to a stop-and-start movement for an hour
Devi Subhadra’s chariot pulling was delayed
Gap between chariots reduced, surge in crowd impacted progress
Lord Jagannath’s chariot made a ritualistic move for a few metres
Too much crowding in inner cordon areas
