One dead, 10 injured as Juggernaut rolls on Puri Grand Road

One person died and eight others were injured during the famed Car Festival. The deceased woman Bijayalamxi Mohanty of Bimanbadusahi of Puri was caught in a stampede that broke out when devotees clashed to touch the idol of Lord Balbhadra when it was being taken in a procession to the chariot from the temple.

Tight security arrangements were made to ensure smooth conduct of the festival. More than 5,000 policemen were deployed across the pilgrim city to maintain law and order. Policeman in plainclothes kept a watch over movement of suspected persons.

More than a dozen closed circuit security cameras had also been installed at various places to keep a watch on troublemakers and manage crowds. Bomb detection and disposal squads and fire tender units and coast guard personnel were deployed to meet emergencies.

Over 10 lakh devotees thronged Puri to see the festival of Lord Jagannath. A cloudy sky with intermittent drizzling provided a perfect weather to the visitors to witness the annual journey of the deity to His aunt Gundicha’s house.

All rituals were completed on schedule and three chariots – Nandigosh of Lord Jagannath, Taldwaja of Lord Balabhadra and Darpadalan of Devi Subhadra reached Gundicha temple before the evening.

At least 25,000 ISKON devotees from different parts of the globe also participated in Rath Yatra.

Lord Jagannath, as per temple tradition, leaves His abode Sri Mandir once in a year to enable all sections of people to have His darshan. People of all faiths and caste throng Puri to see and touch the deities on the chariot. After a nine-day sojourn at Gundicha temple, the deities return to Sri Mandir.

The return journey is known as Bahuda Yatra.

The East Coast Railways ( ECR) ran at least 237 trains, including 66 special ones, from different parts of the country to enable devotees to reach Puri. The ERC offered Janata meals to devotees at Rs 10 per packet.