Timber for Rath Yatra arrives in Odisha's Kendrapara temple, construction from May 16

KENDRAPARA: The construction work of chariot for the annual car festival in the 300-year-old Baldevjew temple here will start soon as timber from the forests of Athagarh forest division reached the Tulasi Kshetra on Friday.

The Rath Yatra will be celebrated in Baldevjew temple after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic. A total of 467.26 cubic feet of Sal timber has been fetched for the 64-foot wooden chariot, touted as the second largest in the State, next only to Keonjhar. Researchers say the height of the chariot here is reportedly more than that of  Puri. 

Around 36 carpenters will be working on the chariot construction. "We spent around Rs 2 lakh to obtain the required quantity of Sal wood from Athagarh. We also procured timber for construction of different parts of the chariot locally. Some old wood from previous years will be used this year as well," said Balabhadra Patri, the executive officer of Baladevjew temple.

Patri added that though the construction works in Puri started on Akshaya Tritiya on May 3, here it will start on May 16. "The work in Kendrapara has been delayed by two weeks due to late arrival of wood but the artisans are determined to complete it before the Rath Yatra on July 1," assured Patri.

Priests of the temple were a disheartened lot after the government had stopped Rath Yatra in the last two years due to Covid restrictions. "The nine-day festival is the main source of our income as many devotees come here to participate in the festival.  We are happy the Rath Yatra will be celebrated in Tulasi Khetra," said Sarat Suar, a priest of the temple.

"The present Baladevjew temple was built by king of Kujang, Raja Gopal Sandha during the Maratha rule in Odisha in 1761 at Ichapur. The 350-year-old Juma mosque at the Old Bus stand in Kendrapara town was built by the Mughal rulers after demolishing the old Baladevjew temple at the same site during the Mughal period in 1661 as the temple authority refused to pay obnoxious 'Jijiya' tax to the ruler," said Dr Basudev Das, researcher.