Rath Yatra: Pulling of chariots to start at 4 pm

Puri, Jul 15 (PTI) The ‘Bahuda Yatra’ or the return car festival of Lord Jagannath from the Gundicha temple to the 12th-century shrine will be held on Monday.

As per the temple schedule, Pahandi or the ceremonial procession of the deities – Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra, Lord Jagannath along with Chakraraj Sudarshan will start at noon and chariot pulling will begin at 4 pm.

After completion of pahandi, the titular king of Puri Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingh Deb will perform ‘Cheera Pahanra’, the sweeping of chariots as per the ritual. The chariots will be pulled by devotees after cheera pahanra, a temple administration official said.

Odisha Police has deployed 180 platoons (1 platoon comprise 30 personnel) of force and 1,000 officers to maintain law and order and crowd management during the Bahuda yatra.

Additional Director General of Police (Law & Order) Sanjay Kumar said adequate security arrangements have been made for the Bahuda yatra. The entire city is under CCTV surveillance.

Around five lakh people will congregate for the festival.

On July 7 during the Rath Yatra, the sibling deities started their journey for the Gundicha temple from the 12th-century Jagannath temple.