PURI (ODISHA): Lord Jagannath, the presiding deity of Puri, and His two siblings – elder brother Balabhadra and younger sister Subhadra – are ready for their annual nine-day Rath Yatra which begins on Tuesday.
Also known as Car Festival, the grand Rath Yatra cultural festival will commence on Tuesday morning with devotees hailing from across the world pulling the chariots of the deities from Srimandir or Jagannath temple to Gundicha temple.
Gudicha temple is considered at the Mausi Maa Ghar or aunt’s place of the deities.
Though Rath Yatra is basically a Hindu festival, it is open to devotees of all faiths. On other days, non-Hindus are not allowed to see the deities in Srimandir, the abode of the deities.
Sharing details about the security arrangements put in place for the festival, Puri superintendent of police (SP) K Vishal Singh said, “A total of 180 platoons of forces have been deployed to maintain law and order. That apart, three companies of Rapid Action Force (RAP) have been engaged to strengthen the cordon.
The state administration has given “special emphasis” on crowd and traffic management, chariot pulling, and providing security to VVIPs.
Around 15 lakh devotees are expected to arrive in the pilgrim city to witness the annual spiritual journey of the deities.
The administration has divided the entire city into 14 zones and 29 sectors for proper maintenance of law and order.
“There are separate officers and their teams to manage the crowd on the Bada Danda (Grand Road). Similarly, separate officers have been deployed for the cordon duties. Adequate police forces have been deployed for the smooth conduct of the Rath Yatra,” Odisha state Director General of Police (DGP) Sunil Bansal said.
State transport commissioner Amitabh Thakur said a detailed mobility plan was issued for regular buses, tourist buses, two-wheelers, and four-wheelers coming to the city.
According to Jagannath cult researchers, the Rath Yatra is more than five thousand years old.
The 45-feet chariot of Lord Jagannath Nandhighosa. Lord Balaram's cart is called Taladhwaja. Similarly, the chariot of Goddess Subhadra is called Darpadalan.
The return journey of Lords to Srimandir after their nine-day sojourn at Gundicha temple is celebrated as Bahuda yatra.
The chariots used during Rath Yatra are built every year. Carpenters begin the construction of chariots on the Akshaya Tritiya day. The chariots are painted with bright colors and the tops are covered with red, black, yellow, or green canopies. Lord Jagannath uses red and yellow, Lord Balaram uses red and green, while Goddess Subhadra uses red and black.
All the chariots have separate features to distinguish from each other.
