Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra: Many injured due to overcrowding

Many devotees were injured due to overcrowding at the annual Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra in the seaside pilgrim town of Puri in Odisha on Sunday.

One person was critically injured during the ‘pulling of the chariot’ ceremony.

The incident took place on Bada Danda, the Grand Road of Puri, where the grand procession was underway.

Witnesses reported that one person was critically injured due to overcrowding during the chariot pulling. The commotion happened during the pulling of Lord Balabhadra’s chariot, which traditionally leads the procession.

Emergency services present at the scene rushed the injured to nearby hospitals for treatment.

The Rath Yatra, a major event in Odisha, draws thousands of devotees who gather to witness the magnificent chariots and participate in pulling them.

Thousands of people pulled forward giant chariots from the 12th century Jagannath temple in Puri towards Gundicha temple, around 2.5 km away.

The chariot pulling started around 5.20 pm after Puri Shankaracharya Swami Nischalanada Saraswati visited the chariots of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra with his disciples and the Puri’s titular king completed the ‘Chhera Pahanra’ (chariot sweeping) ritual.

Earlier in the day, President Droupadi Murmu performed a ‘parikrama’ of the three chariots and bowed down before the deities.

Thousands of people gathered to pull the nearly 45-foot tall wooden chariot of Lord Balabhadra, marking the beginning of the annual rath yatra. This event will be followed by the pulling of the chariots of Devi Subhadra and Lord Jagannath. The air resonated with chants of ‘Jai Jagannath’ and ‘Haribol’ as fervent devotees sought a glimpse of the holy occasion.

It is estimated that around a million devotees are estimated to have converged on the town for this significant event.

Rath Yatra will be a two-day affair this year after 53 years due to some celestial arrangements.