With the car festival is nearly a month ahead, non-supply of timber by the Forest department has halted the construction of 64-foot-high chariot, Brahma Taladhwaj, for lord Baladevjew and His siblings in the Tulashi Kshetra here.
The Brahma Taladwaj chariot is said to be the biggest chariot in the State.According to the Baladevjew Temple Endowment Trust Board, this time two new axles are necessitated for the chariot as the existing ones have been laying in dilapidated condition. In order to construct two new axles, the temple trust board needs two sal logs, each measuring 5.5 feet in circumference and 40 feet in length.
According to board member Dhiren Kumar Sahu, every year the chariot construction work starts on the Akshaya Truitya day and subsequently two new wheels of the chariot are worshiped at the Ratha Danda on the Debasnana Purnima day.Meanwhile, sevayats have resented the delay in chariot construction work. “This year the age-old tradition is going to be broken due to lack of timber,” they lamented.Even though a meeting held recently under the chairmanship of Regional Chief Conservator of Forest, Angul, assured the Baladevjew temple of required number of timbers, logs needed for axles are yet to reach the temple.
Temble board members have already returned empty handed from the Kamakhyanagar east forest range and the Athagarh forest range areas as required size of sal timber for the two axles were not available in the forests.The search is still on. A team of sevayats and trust board members has moved to the Mahavir Road range under the Dhenkanal Forest Ranger in search timber, informed trust board sources.
According to Kendrapada Sub-Collector Pratap Kumar Mishra, sufficient timbers excepting some required for the two axles have already been arranged. The Mahavir Road forest personnel are expected to provide sal timber for the axles within one or two days and the chariot construction work would be completed within the deadline set by the trust board.
A total of 1,214 pieces of logs are required for the construction of the Baladevjew chariot. The chariot moves on 14 wheels, said Sukadev Moharana, the main Moharana (carpenter) of the Brahma Taladhwaj chariot.