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Bahuda Yatra begins in Puri amid tight security, lakhs witness deities' procession
Bahuda Yatra begins in Puri amid tight security, lakhs witness deities' procession
Puri, Lord Jagannath and his sibling deities began their Bahuda Yatra on Friday amid tight security, with lakhs of devotees thronging Puri to take part in the festivities.
The Bahuda Yatra marks the return journey of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra to the 12th-century Jagannath Temple after their week-long stay at the Gundicha Temple, about 2.6 km away.
The rituals commenced with servitors carrying the deities in the traditional 'Goti Pahandi' to the chariots stationed outside the temple.
Though the 'Pahandi' was scheduled to begin at noon, it commenced at 10.50 am. Amid chants of "Jai Jagannath" and "Haribol", the deities were taken one after another to their respective chariots.
The three chariots Taladwaj of Lord Balabhadra, Darpadalan of Goddess Subhadra and Nandighosh of Lord Jagannath will later be pulled by devotees to the Jagannath Temple.
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, Leader of Opposition Naveen Patnaik, and several other leaders greeted devotees on the occasion.
"Heartfelt congratulations and best wishes on the occasion of the sacred Bahuda Yatra. May the boundless grace of Lord Jagannath, Mother Subhadra and Lord Balabhadra fill everyone's lives with happiness, peace, prosperity and joy," Majhi said in a social media post.
Chakraraj Sudarshan, the divine discus of Lord Jagannath, was the first to be brought out of the Shree Gundicha Temple and placed on Goddess Subhadra's Darpadalan chariot.
It was followed by Lord Balabhadra, while Devi Subhadra was carried to her chariot in the special 'Sunya Pahandi' procession, in which the goddess faces the sky while being carried by servitors.
Lord Jagannath was to be taken to his Nandighosh chariot at the end of the procession.
According to the schedule issued by the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration, Puri's titular king, Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingha Deb, will perform the 'Chhera Pahanra' between 2.30 pm and 3.30 pm, following which devotees will begin pulling the chariots at 4 pm.
The festival is being held under an extensive security blanket in the wake of the crowd surge during the Rath Yatra, which claimed two lives and left several others injured.
"We have a multi-layered security arrangement for the festival as the number of devotees rises by the day. Our security and crowd management arrangements remain similar to the bandobast made during the Rath Yatra," ADG Soumendra Priyadarshi said.
More than 13,000 security personnel, including Central Armed Police Force personnel, have been deployed across Puri, while over 400 AI-enabled CCTV cameras have been installed for real-time surveillance and crowd monitoring.
"We have taken all possible measures to ensure the festival concludes smoothly," Director General of Police YB Khurania said.
Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department has forecast cloudy skies over Puri, with humidity likely to remain between 80 and 90 per cent and temperatures hovering between 29 and 30 degrees Celsius.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
