Puri:

A massive crowd at the Puri Rath Yatra has led to one person dying of suffocation and several others being hospitalised. The yatra, which is one of the country’s largest religious gatherings, witnessed an even higher turnout this year because it is being held over two days for the first time since 1971.

The administration stressed that the death was due to suffocation and there was no stampede-like situation despite lakhs of people gathering to witness – and participate in – the chariots of Lord Jagannath, Devi Subhadra and Lord Balabhadra being taken to visit their maternal aunt, Goddess Gundicha Devi, at her temple around 2.5 km away, and then brought back.  

Officials said the death of the man was caused by heat and humidity coupled with the rush. Adequate arrangements had been made and ambulances were deployed to attend to such situations, they emphasised. Despite water being sprinkled on the devotees to keep them cool, several people could be seen carried out on stretchers and taken away in ambulances after collapsing.

President Droupadi Murmu, who was born in Odisha and has served as an MLA, also attended the yatra on Sunday. 

The pulling of the chariots began around 5.20 pm after Puri Shankaracharya Swami Nischalanada Saraswati went to the chariots of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra with his disciples and Puri’s titular king completed the ‘Chhera Pahanra’ (chariot sweeping) ritual.

The President, Odisha Governor Raghubar Das, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan symbolically started the mammoth exercise by pulling the ropes attached to the main chariot of Lord Jagannath. Leader of Opposition Naveen Patnaik also paid obeisance to the deities.

Tight security arrangements were in place, with the deployment of 180 platoons (each 30-strong) of security personnel, Puri Superintendent of Police Pinak Mishra was quoted as saying by news agency PTI. Drones were also deployed. 

CCTV cameras with AI technology were installed at Badadanda, the venue of the festival, and other strategic locations in the town, said ADG (law and order) Sanjay Kumar. As many as 46 fire tenders were also in place and DG, fire service, Sudhanshu Sarangi said water was sprinkled on the crowd to keep them cool.

(With PTI inputs)

Bhubaneswar:

In a tragic incident, one person died due to suffocation while several others sustained injuries in a stampede-like situation during the pulling of chariots in Rath Yatra at Puri on Sunday, officials said.

According to sources, several other devotees were injured in the incident while some of them are reportedly critical. They are currently undergoing treatment at the Puri district hospital.

“The chariot of Lord Balabhadra had moved ahead a little when suddenly the crowd increased outside the security cordon. Meanwhile, we saw the elderly deceased fall on the ground in the crowd. We immediately rescued him and brought him to the hospital in the ambulance. We also administered CPR to him in the ambulance on the way to hospital. I gave CPR all along and the doctor also tried hard to save him at the hospital but later pronounced him dead. From a call received on the deceased’s mobile which is with us, we came to know his name and he belonged to Balangir district,” said a volunteer working in St John Ambulance.

The administration identified the victim as Lalit Bagarti from Saintala in Balangir district. Expressing deep grief on the death of a devotee during Rath Yatra, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has announced an ex-gratia of Rs four lakh for his family.

A similar stampede-like situation also occurred during the pulling of Nandighosh Rath, the chariot of Lord Jagannath.

Sources also said that due to extremely humid conditions in the holy city and the huge gathering, more than 300 persons were admitted to hospitals after feeling uneasy during the Rath Yatra till evening on Sunday.

Health Minister Mukesh Mahaling, Chief Secretary Manoj Ahuja, and Health Secretary Shalini Pandit also visited the hospitals and enquired about the health condition of the injured persons undergoing treatment.

The pulling of chariots was stopped on Sunday evening after they rolled a short distance and will be resumed on Monday. The state government had earlier declared July 8 as a holiday keeping in view the continuing pulling of chariots.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Puri:

The seaside pilgrim town of Puri is all set for the smooth conduct of Lord Jagannath’s annual Rath Yatra festival which will be a two-day affair after 53 years.

Along with lakhs of devotees, President Droupadi Murmu is also scheduled to witness the Rath Yatra on Sunday. The state government has made special arrangements for her visit.

Officials said that the Odisha government has made elaborate arrangements for the smooth conduct of the festival which usually is organised in a single day. Some celestial arrangements have made it a two-day event. Rath Yatra was last held for two days in 1971.

In a departure from tradition, some of the rituals related to the festival involving the three sibling deities — Lord Jagannath, Devi Subhadra and Lord Balabhadra — will also be held in a single day on Sunday.

The chariots have been parked in front of the Lion’s Gate of the Jagannath temple from where they would be taken to Gundicha temple where the chariots will remain for a week.

The chariots will be pulled by devotees on Sunday afternoon.

This year, the Rath Yatra, and related rituals like ‘Nabajouban Darshan’ and ‘Netra Utsav’ will be conducted in a single day on Sunday. These rituals are generally held ahead of the Rath Yatra.

‘Nabajouban Darshan’ means youthful appearance of deities, who were behind the doors for 15 days in a ritual called ‘Anasara’ (quarantine), conducted after ‘Snana Purnima’.

According to mythology, the deities fall ill due to excessive bathing on ‘Snana Purnima’ and therefore remain indoors.

Prior to ‘Nabajouban Darshan’, the priests performed the special ritual called ‘Netra Utsav’ in which the eyeballs of the deities are painted afresh.

Meanwhile, the state government has made elaborate arrangements for smooth and timely conduct of the annual festival.

“With the cooperation of all stakeholders, all the rituals are going on smoothly. With the blessings of Lord Jagannath, all other rituals will also be conducted according to the schedule,” Puri Collector Siddharth Shankar Swain said.

Puri Superintendent of Police Pinak Mishra said that 180 platoons (one platoon comprises 30 personnel) of security personnel of both the state and central governments have been deployed to look after the law and order and manage the crowds during the festival.

Artificial Intelligence-based CCTV cameras have been installed at Badadanda, the venue of the festival, and other strategic locations in the pilgrim town, said ADG (law and order) Sanjay Kumar.

Special security arrangements have been made for the President’s visit to the festival. While a VIP zone has been planned for the Odisha Governor, Chief Minister, Union ministers, and other dignitaries, a buffer zone has been planned for the President, Mr Kumar said.

A dedicated team led by a senior SP rank officer has been formed to supervise President Murmu’s visit, he added.

Expecting a crowd of 10 to 15 lakh, arrangements have been made by the fire service department.

Altogether 46 modern fire tenders have been deployed in various parts of the town and along the sea beach for the Rath Yatra, said DG, fire service, Sudhanshu Sarangi.

As hot and humid weather may prevail, water will be sprinkled on the crowd, he said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Ahmedabad:

The 147th Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath rolled out early Sunday morning in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad city where a large number of devotees flocked the procession route to pay obeisance to the deity.

The raths (chariots) of Lord Jagannath, his brother Balbhadra, and sister Subhadra are pulled by Khalashi community members as per the age-old tradition.

The Rath Yatra is taken out on the Ashadhi Beej (second day of Hindu Ashadh month) every year.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah performed the ‘mangla aarti’ and Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel performed ‘pahind vidhi’, the ritual of cleaning the way using a golden broom, as the chariots rolled out from the 400-year-old Lord Jagannath temple in Jamalpur area.

A senior police official earlier said more than 22,000 security personnel will guard the event and some balloon-mounted cameras will also be deployed to keep a watch on the people’s movement.

As many as 4,500 personnel have been deployed to walk with the procession along the entire 16-km route while 1,931 personnel are managing traffic during the 147th edition of the annual Rath Yatra.

As per the decades-old tradition, the procession, led by chariots, would return by 8 pm after traversing different localities in the Old City, including some communally sensitive areas.

The procession usually consists of 18 decorated elephants, 100 trucks, and 30 ‘akhadas’ (local gymnasiums).

Senior police officials will keep a close watch on the procession using 1,733 body-worn cameras linked to a control room.

Besides, 20 drones and 96 surveillance cameras have been installed at 47 locations on the route.

Nearly 1,400 CCTV cameras installed by shopkeepers on the route will also be used for live surveillance, Ahmedabad Commissioner of Police GS Malik told reporters on Thursday.

To address any medical emergency, 16 ambulances and medical teams at five government-run hospitals have also been kept on stand-by, as per officials. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

The globally renowned Jagannatha Temple in Puri is once again in the spotlight, with the Congress party pushing for the reopening of all four temple gates. The Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) has announced a rally on October 16 in Puri. The primary purpose of this rally is to advocate for the reopening of all four gates of the Jagannath Temple, allowing devotees to access the sacred site. OPCC president Sarat Pattanayak emphasised the temple’s significance as a destination for devotees from all over India and beyond.

“The number of devotees will increase during the holy Odia month of Kartik, which begins on October 29. Respecting the demands of Jagannath lovers, all four gates of the temple should be reopened for public immediately,” he demanded.

The party will submit a memorandum to the chief administrator of Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) in this regard, he said.

In a statement in the state assembly during the recently concluded monsoon session, Law Minister Jagannath Saraka said entry of devotees to the temple through the four gates has been closed since March 20, 2020, due to COVID restrictions.

“As the Srimandir Parikrama project is still underway, three gates cannot be opened for devotees,” he had said.

Apart from the Singhadwar (Lions Gate), the government has opened the Paschim Dwar (west gate) only for Puri residents to perform daily rituals.

With the temple administration in the news once again, it’s worth exploring the significant cultural, religious, and historical importance it holds for the people of Odisha and India. This revered temple is dedicated to Lord Jagannath, a prominent incarnation of Lord Vishnu in Hinduism, and it plays a central role in the religious and cultural heritage of the region and the nation.

It is one of the fourpilgrimage sites (Char Dham) and is visited by millions of devotees each year. The main deity in the temple is a wooden idol of Jagannath, which is said to be over 1,000 years old. The idol is flanked by the idols of his brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra.

The present-day structure of the Jagannath Temple is believed to have been built in the 12th century by King Anantavarman Chodaganga Deva.

Rath Yatra:

The Jagannath Temple is known for its unique Rath Yatra festival, which is held every year. During the Rath Yatra, the idols of Jagannath, Balabhadra, and Subhadra are placed on three giant chariots and pulled through the streets of Puri by millions of devotees. The Rath Yatra is one of the largest religious festivals in the world.

The Jagannath Temple is a place of great religious and cultural significance. It is a place where people from all walks of life come together to worship and celebrate their faith. It is also a place where people can learn about Hindu culture and tradition.

The temple architecture:

According to the official website, the temple of Lord Shree Jagannatha is about 214 feet and 8 inches high from the road level. The entire temple premises are enclosed by two big concentric walls. The outer wall is known as ‘Meghanada Prachira’ (665 ft. x 640 ft.), and the inner wall is known as ‘Kurma Prachira’ (420 ft. x 315 ft.). The height of the outer walls varies from 20 feet to 24 feet. There are four gates in the outer enclosure. The eastern entrance is known as Singha Dwara’, or the Lion’s Gate.

The entrances on the southern, western, and northern sides of the outer enclosure are known as Aswadwara (South Gate). “Vyaghra Dwara’ (West Gate) and Hastidwara (North Gate), respectively, have hundreds of subsidiary shrines and Mandapas (elevated platforms) inside the temple premises. Two gardens, namely ‘Koili Baikuntha’ and ‘Nilachala Upabana”, seven wells, Ananda Bazara, the kitchen, and the holy banyan tree (Kalpabata), are also inside the temple premises.