GUMLA/HAZARIBAGH/BOKARO, July 11, 2013: Thousands of devotees, who participated in the Rath Yatra near their houses, were as excited to pull the Lord's chariot as those that did the same in Puri.

In Gumla on Wednesday, thousands were seen pulling the chariot of Lord Jagannath, brother Balbhadra and sister Subhadra at Nagfeni where an historic temple of the deities is located on the bank of the South Koel River. Devotees worshipped the Lord at the temple after taking a dip at the South Koel river. Local MLA Gitashree Oraon also attended the Rath Yatra.

"Rath Yatra began around 200 years ago in this tribal heartland. The images of Lord Jagannath, Balbhadra and Subhadra were brought from the famous Jagannath Temple in Puri," said chief temple priest Manohar Panda.

Legend has it that worship of the deities was initiated in 1761 by the then Maharaja of Ratu estate. "Over a dozen Pandas visit Nagfeni from Odisha for Rath Yatra and 17 generations of 15 Pandas have been residing here," said Parathnath Panda, bother of Manohar Panda who presently resides in Rourkela.

The occasion is important for tribals as well. Alhad Oraon of Chapatoli village has been visiting the temple for the past 12 years. "Faith pulls many to the temple from Ranchi and neighbouring state Chhattisgarh," said Kalyan Kumar Jaiswal of Ranchi who has been visiting Nagfeni every year on the occasion.

In Hazaribagh, too, thousands of devotees of Lord Jagannath watched the Rath Yatra. A colourful chariot carried the idols to their Mausi bari.

located atop famous 'Silwar Pahar' located on the N.H.-100 about 10 km away from the town .

Large numbers of devotees from Hazaribag, Bishnugarh, Bagodar (Giridih) and Koderma were seen standing along the NH 100 to get a glimpse of the procession. People even braved the rains to come out in groups.

Arvind Kumar Singh, officer in charge of Hazaribag Mufassil police station, said no untoward incident took place and the Mela was peaceful. The local transporters provided special bus services from Hazaribag, Bagodar and Bishnugarh for the convenience of the devotees.

Bokaro also saw the participation of large number of devotees in the Rath Yatra in Sector IV. The chanting of 'hari bol' and 'Jai Jagannath' were heard everywhere.

Chief executive officer, Bokaro Steel Limited Anutosh Maitra offered puja to the deities and performed chhera-panhara (a ritual), in which he cleaned the holy chariot with a broom.

Policemen were deployed at all the important points to control the rush and organizers were seen helping devotees in the holy procession. A temple priest said an average increase in number of devotees was observed as usual this year also. "The Lord accompanied with her brother and sister will return to his original adobe from Mausi bari after nine days in his holy chariot," said the priest.

Source: The Times of India, DT. July 11, 2013.