BHUBANESWAR, July 13, 2013: After giving darshan to countless devotees on chariots for past two days, the reigning deities of the Jagannath Temple on Friday entered the Gundicha Temple in a pompous procession. The deities would spend six days here and return to Jagannath Temple on July 18, the day of BahudaYatra.

Around 30 platoons of police force were deployed for a hassle-free journey of the deities from chariots into the temple.

Braving downpour for the third consecutive day, devotees turned up in large number to a catch glimpse of the deities. "It is believed that darshan of the deities at Gundicha Temple is equivalent to several rounds of visit to the Jagannath Temple. We did not want to miss this rare opportunity," said Manorama Mishra, a devotee from Dhenkanal.

From Saturday, the devotees would be able to get 'Mahaprasad' at Gundicha Temple. Anticipating huge congregation on the occasion of Sandhya Darshan on July 17, police have made massive security arrangements at the temple, sources said.

Source: The Times of India, DT. July 13, 2013.