The neem tree (Daru) for Shree Jagannath image was felled at Kharipadia village under Raghunathpur block in Jagatsinghpur district on Saturday evening. After the Purnahuti marked the conclusion of Maha Yajna at 3pm, the felling of the tree began. The Swatriya Brahamans conducted a secret puja beneath the tree. The Chakranarayan was brought back to Sabarpalli (home for Banajaga members) after the ritual.
Bidyapati Narasingh Pati Mohapatra touched the Daru with a golden axe. The same was done by Biswabasu Binayak Das Mohapatra with a silver axe. Iron axe was delivered to the chief of the Biswakarma servitors who gave first touch to the Daru before the stage was set for the final grounding of the holy tree. The Biswakarmas, including many carpenters from Raghunathpur, began removing the soil from around the tree till the root was reached. The tree cutting process started at 6 pm. It was accompanied by chants of Jai Jagannath, Haribola and Hulahuli by thousands of devotees present at the spot.
Amazingly, the owlets holed up atop of the neem tree were seen during the process of Daru cutting and drew devotees’ attention the entire day. Earlier, Daitapatis denied dislodging the owls from the holy tree since they are considered as consort of Goddess of lakshmi. The Forest officials were in a fix as to how to save the owls and the chicks ahead of the tree felling. They were present at the spot with cage and other tools to catch the birds after tree felling. Meanwhile, Arakhita Mallick who was nourishing the tree for many years fell unconscious when the holy tree was felled. Villagers sprinkled water on him after which he regained his sense.