The annual Rath Yatra festival was observed with much fanfare and gusto in several places of Jagatsinghpur district on Wednesday. No untoward incident was reported during the festival across the district as the administration and police had made elaborate arrangements for the safety and security of the devotees and visitors.
Sources said that the Rath Yatra is popular in six major places in different blocks of the district like Sidhal, Dhyana Kuda, Garei, Sarabanta, Gadakujanga and the port town of Paradip, where there are big Jagannath temples. The festival is also observed in almost all the villages of the district, where devotees pull small chariots.
The ceremonial procession and ritual connected with the fest of the deities took place after the customary sweeping of chariots by eminent personalities of the locality. District Collector S K Mallick attended the Sidhal Ratha Yatra six km away from Jagatsinghpur town and performed the sweeping ritual on Wednesday afternoon after which the chariot was pulled. Reports said that nearly 20,000 devotees from surrounding villages witnessed the festival.
Rath Yatra was also celebrated in Dhyanakuda Jagannath temple in Biridi block, where the chariot pulling was started after 4 pm. Pramoda Nandi, the local designated king, performed the sweeping ceremony and Baba Arakhita Das coordinated. Thousands of devotees thronged venue on the occasion. The festival of the Jagannath temple at Garei in Naugaon block also witnessed about 50, 000 devotees. Kedar Nath Biswal, the Thakur Raja of the temple, performed the sweeping of chariots. The pulling of the chariots started after 5 pm. In coastal Erasama block, Rath Yatra was celebrated in Sarabanta Jagannath temple in Gadaharishpur Panchayat, with a huge crowd from surrounding villages having congregated to participate the annual extravaganza.
Rath Yatra was also celebrated in a big way in the port town of Paradip. PPT chairman SS Misra performed the sweeping ritual of the chariot and devotees pulled the chariot at 3pm. The deities reached the Mausi Maa temple in Madhuban as per the schedule.
The most glittering Rath Yatra was observed at Kunjabihari temple in Gadakujanga Panchayat near Kujanga, where the chariot was pulled after a day. On the day of annual Rath Yatra, all rituals were performed and the deities took rest in the chariot till the next day to be pulled.
Acting on the rich precedent of the Rath Yatra, the sweeping ceremony in the chariot was performed by Health Minister Damodar Rout on Wednesday evening. Then the deities took a halt in the chariot. In view of the recent Posco standoff, elaborate security arrangements had been made to ward off any untoward incidents.