Puri, July 9, 2013: After remaining confined to a room for over a fortnight, the presiding deities of the Jagannath temple here on Monday gave darshan to the devotees in the ‘Nabajouban avatar’ in the shrine.

The pleasant weather saw lakhs of devotees converge at the temple town to catch a glimpse of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra sporting a youthful look after recuperating from illness. The Lord and his siblings were taken ill after the festive bath on Debasnana Purnima. They were since undergoing treatment in a solitary room in the shrine and were out of bounds for pilgrims.

As per the temple rituals, the servitors dismantled the temporary sick room and performed a complex set of rituals at around 4 am on Monday. Public darshan was allowed by 7.15 am and would continue till Tuesday evening.

On Tuesday night, the ‘daita’ servitors - the body of protectors of the deities - would work through the night to dress up The Trinity with a special outing attire called ‘Chhenapatta laagi’ so that the deities could bear the stress of the ‘Pahandi’. Elaborate arrangements were made by the administration for the purpose.

Admn All Set to Manage Crowd

As a crowd of more than 10 lakh is expected on Rath Yatra on Wednesday and 15 lakh on Suna Besha on Friday, arrangements have been made to ensure uninterrupted supply of power, water and medical and essential services during the festival. The entire stretch of the Grand Road, the venue of Rath Yatra, has been illuminated. The civic body and other departments concerned have taken special care to ensure smooth conduct of the festival. The final preparations were reviewed earlier by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

Carpenters working on the chariots said construction of all the three chariots will be completed in time. The chariots would be fashioned in their respective colour clothes and veered from the construction site to the festival site in front of the Lions Gate. Temple Chief Administrator and Revenue Divisional Commissioner (Central) Aravind Padhee and District Magistrate Naba Kishore Nayak are coordinating the works.

On Rath Yatra day, priests outside the temple’s main gate are slated to begin consecration ceremony of the chariots by 8.30 am. ‘Pahandi’ has been scheduled between 9 am and 12 noon and the ‘Chherapahanra’ by Gajapati Dibya Singh Deb is slated from 1 pm to 2 pm while the pulling of chariots would begin at around 3 pm.

Security Beefed Up

In the wake of blasts in Bodh Gaya temple, heavy security arrangements have been made in the Pilgrim Town by the State Government.

Over 108 platoons of armed police personnel including officers of various ranks will be deployed in and around Puri to ensure safe conduct of the festival. Three companies of Rapid Action Force (RAF) will be engaged to keep an eye on anti-socials in the crowd.

A large number of CCTVs have been installed at various places in Puri. The Government Railway Police (GRP) have engaged 500 armed personnel and installed 35 CCTVs at all railway stations in the district.

Source: The New Indian Express, DT. July 9, 2013.