The annual Jagannath Rath Yatra, the most significant and awaited festival in India is all ready to begin in Odisha’s Puri district on the 7th of July, Sunday. The President of India Draupadi Murmu is expected to be there at the Rath Yatra with lakhs of devotees from all over India.
According to officials, the Odisha government has made detailed arrangements for the smooth control of the yatra which is usually organised in a single day but this year, it is a two-day event which was last held in the year 1971.
SP Pinak Mishra said “ Today we are celebrating the world-famous Rath Yatra of Lord Srri Jagannath. As anticipated, a large number of devotees will flock to Puri to participate in this Yatra. We have made extensive police arrangements and divided then into several important segments”
For the departure in this tradition, the festival involves rituals of the three sibling Lords- Lord Jagannath, Devi Subhadra and Lord Balabhadra which will also be done in a single day.
The chariots of the three lords will be parked in front of the Lion’s gate of Jagannath temple from where they will be taken to the Gundicha temple where the chariots will stay for a week and then will be brought by the devotees today afternoon. They are constructed every year from wood of specific trees and crafted by a special team of carpenters.
This year, The Rath Yatra and all the related rituals like ‘Netra Utsav’ in which the eyeballs of the Lords are painted fresh and ‘Nabajouban Darshan’ which refers to the youthful appearance of the Lords who were behind the doors for 15 days has been conducted in a single day on July 7th.
The Odisha state government has made detailed new arrangements for the management of the annual festival.
Special Arrangements for the Yatra
180 platoons of security of both the state and the center government have been positioned to take care of the law and order and crowd during the festival.
A special green corridor is made to take anyone getting ill from the crowd to the hospital as soon as possible.
AI based CCTV camera’s have been placed at the venue of the festival and other locations in the town.
Special arrangements of security have been made for the President’s visit to the festival. A VIP section has been made for the governor, chief minister and other union ministers. A buffer zone for the President has also been planned.
A Committed team led by a senior SP officer has been also formed to supervise the visit of the president to the town.
Arrangements by the fire service department has been made keeping in mind a crowd of 10-15 lakh devotees. 46 Modern fire tenders have been arranged in different parts of the town and also at the sea beach for the yatra.
Keeping in mind the weather, water will be sprinkled on the crowd as well.
