Rath Yatra preparations in Bhubaneswar enter final leg

BHUBANESWAR: Rath Yatra committees here are busy with last-minute preparations for the seven-day festival, which will start from July 14. Rath Yatra will be celebrated with fanfare in more than 30 places in the city and on its outskirts.

With only a week to go, artisans engaged by the committees are giving final touches to the wooden chariots of the deities Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra. Usually, the chariots are repainted and used every year.

The Rath Yatra of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (Iskcon) at Nayapalli is a big crowd-puller. The Iskcon Temple's chariots will be pulled till the Mausima Temple at Unit 8.

Upendra Mishra Das, the chairman of the Iskcon Temple Festival Committee, said they have completed almost 90 per cent of the work. "We have started painting the chariots. After this, we will decorate the Raths with patches of cloth like last year. We will complete the preparations by July 10," he added.

The Iskcon temple, which bore the brunt of waterlogging this season, is taking steps to ensure that the Raths don't get stuck in case of rain. A joint squad of the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation and the Bhubaneswar Development Authority has been cleaning the drain around the temple since Monday. Two water pumps have been kept on standby to drain the water in the front of the temple in case of rain next Saturday. "All the agencies have promised to help us in ensuring a smooth Rath Yatra," said Das.

Shrivani Khetra of Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences is also gearing up for its spectacular Rath Yatra. "Ninety per cent of the work has been done. We are busy completing the decorations now. We strictly follow rituals during the Rath Yatra," said temple administrator of Shrivani Khetra, Kamala Kant Rout.

Vani Vihar Rath Yatra Committee president Santosh Tripathy said they have started painting the Raths. "We will complete the work by July 10," he added.

Patia, VSS Nagar, Jagamara, Dumduma, Patiagarh, Baramunda, Saheed Nagar, Laxmi Sagar, Baragada and Old Town also see big Rath Yatras. At Patia, the tradition of Rath Yatra goes back to the 13th century.