Odisha Governor Hari Babu Kambhampati and Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi extended their warm greetings to the people on Thursday to mark the occasion of the annual Ratha Yatra and prayed for happiness, peace, and prosperity in everyone’s life.
BJD president and former chief minister Naveen Patnaik also joined in conveying his festive wishes to the people for the grand chariot festival.
The governor prayed that the festival would foster a greater sense of unity, equality, fraternity, and humanity among citizens.
“May the divine Rath Yatra of Lord Sri Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra further strengthen the great sentiments of faith, unity, equality, brotherhood, and humanity among us all. Through the boundless grace of the Lord, may happiness, peace, and prosperity prevail in everyone’s life. On this sacred occasion, my prayers to the Lord for the well-being of all. Jai Jagannath,” he said in a message from his X handle.
Majhi, who has spent the last two days in Puri to personally oversee the festival’s management, expressed his hopes for the overall progress of the state and called upon devotees visiting the holy town to celebrate the festival in a disciplined manner while abiding by all rules and regulations.
In a video message, Chief Minister Majhi said, “After a year, the sacred Rath Yatra has returned once again. Lord Jagannath will step out from the Shree Mandir and ascend His majestic chariot to bless the whole humanity. Once again, devotees have the rare and wonderful opportunity to behold Lord Jagannath on His chariot.”
“On this sacred occasion, I extend my heartfelt greetings and best wishes to everyone and warmly welcome all devotees visiting Puri. Let us participate in the Rath Yatra by abiding by the law and with dedication and enjoy the divine darshan of Lord Jagannath in a disciplined manner,” the Chief Minister also added.
The chief minister also said, “May every Odia’s life be filled with auspiciousness; and with the all-round development of the state, may everyone’s welfare be ensured – I pray at the holy lotus feet of the four idols. Jai Jagannath.”
In a video message, Patnaik said, ” Jay Jagannath. I am extending best wishes on the occasion of scared Rath yatra. Let us celebrate this world-famous Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath with devotion and surrender. I wish that everyone’s life be filled with happiness, peace and prosperity with the blessings of Lord Jagannath,” Patnaik said in a video message.”
Undeterred by heavy rainfall, nearly two lakh devotees have already gathered in the coastal pilgrim town, eagerly waiting for the massive chariots of Lord Jagannath and his divine siblings to roll down Puri’s Grand Road.
To ensure a seamless procession, authorities have set up dedicated systems to drain out rainwater from the Grand Road, where devotees will pull the three majestic chariots of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra from the 12th-century temple to the Shree Gundicha temple, located roughly 2.6 km away.
According to a temple official, the chariot-pulling is scheduled to commence at 4 pm, following the traditional sweeping ritual performed by Puri’s titular king, Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingha Deb, and a highly anticipated visit by Puri Shankaracharya Swami Nischalananda Saraswati.
Keeping in view the inflow and outflow of vehicles visiting Puri to ensure smooth traffic movement, the Odisha Police, has meanwhile, have put in place dynamic traffic arrangements,
The police have installed 595 permanent and 1,050 temporary signages for public convenience.
This apart, more than 13,000 police personnel, along with adequate number of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF), will be deployed for security arrangements during the festival.
The Indian Coast Guard and the Indian Navy will also remain on alert to check any illegal activities through the coastal route.
On the other hand, as many as 19 senior IPS officers have been assigned the duty to supervise the overall security arrangements.
The state government has installed 473 CCTV cameras to keep a watch on the movement of devotees and 65 large LED screens to disseminate important information to devotees in Odia, Hindi and English.
Similarly, 16 permanent mobile towers and several temporary towers have also been set up to strengthen communication services.
Bulk messaging facilities will also be used to disseminate information.
