PURI/BHUBANESWAR: Anticipating a mammoth gathering of devotees on Kartika Purnima, which marks the conclusion of Panchuka with Rajrajeswara Besha of the Trinity, the Puri administration has decided to put the Grand Road under a thick security net and deploy more officials for crowd management.
Forty platoons of police force, 30 magistrates, a host of Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) officials and hundreds of volunteers will be stationed from Bagala Dharmasala to the Lions’ Gate of Srimandir, to ensure that the movement of devotees to the shrine is incident-free on Wednesday, said Puri collector Dibya Jyoti Parida. Besides, efforts will be made for completion of all rituals of the Trinity on time.
Apart from Rath Yatra, Srimandir witnesses a five-fold rise in devotees’ footfall on Panchuka - the last five days of Kartika month. On Monday, the crowd was manageable, but the situation went out of control on Sunday which was the first day of Panchuka. Lakhs of devotees turned up at the Grand Road to offer their prayers to the Trinity on the occasion that coincided with Bala Dhupa, Maha Ekadashi and Hari Uthapana rituals. Expecting the rush, servitors had evaded the Pahuda Niti of the Trinity the night before.
With a large number of rituals lined up inside the shrine, devotees had to wait in the barricades for eight to nine hours to enter Srimandir through the Lions’s Gate. “Since temple doors are closed during rituals, devotees had to wait for a long time for darshan. But our volunteers ensured that each devotee had a proper darshan of the Trinity,” the collector said.
Restless over the long waiting period, devotees reportedly broke barricades at a few places and rushed towards the Lions’ Gate. DGP YB Khurania along with SP Pratik Singh and temple chief administrator Arabind Padhee had to step in to control the situation.
However, the administration refuted claims of a stampede-like situation and injury to any devotee.
“We are anticipating a similar or even bigger crowd on Kartika Purnima and all arrangements have been put in place near the barricades for the comfort of devotees like drinking water facilities, coolers, fans, etc. Ambulances will be stationed throughout the Grand Road to meet any medical emergency,” the collector informed.
The barricades will continue from Bagala Dharmasala to Lions’ Gate. Devotees will enter only through the Lions’s Gate and exit from the other three gates. Three hundred lifeguards will be deployed at Puri beach as a large gathering is expected for Boita Bandana on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, deputy chief minister Pravati Parida visited Brundabati Nivas on Monday and interacted with Habisiyalis. Brundabati Nivas is one of the five accommodation facilities that the state government has made for 2,500 elderly women observing Kartika Brata.
