The world-famous biennial heritage festival Thakurani Yatra here, which entered the 17th day on Sunday, is gaining momentum as its closing day is approaching nearer.
lakhs of devotees from across the country amidst mild rain marched towards the festival site of Maa Thakurani in Desibehera Street of Big Bazar to have a darshan of their most-revered deity. The flow of devotees to this Silk City has been increasing manifold day by day. In fact, the period of the Yatra was initially fixed for 20 days till April 20. However, keeping the public demand ad the devotees' sentiment in view, the Ganjam district administration granted permission to extend the period of the festivities for nine more days till April 29, said Yatra spokesperson and member of managing team Satyanarayan Nanda. Meanwhile, the Yatra received a great impetus with a large number of enthusiastic devotees appearing in different traditional colourful dresses and myriad costumes moving around the streets for fulfilment of their preordained desires. Besides, a large number of chariots displaying the various human forms of different idols have started rolling, drawing huge public attention.
Thousands of people switched off their cooking gas cylinders and TV sets and the shopkeepers left their sales counters to come and witness 108-Hanuman Procession (i.e. one hundred and eight persons with Hanuman Vesa with Gada in hand) while it was passing through the city's main roads of Gandhinagar, Sai Complex, Gandhi Square, Hotel Moti Road, Urban Bank Road, Giri Road and San Bazar to reach the temporary adobe of the deity for darshan. Most of the hotels in the city remain packed. The denizens of the city are busy providing hospitality to thousands of their relatives coming everyday from outside for darshan of the deity. However, lack of drinking water and frequent unscheduled power cuts lead to anger among the devotees.