Puja at Puri stn to avert Bahanaga-like accident

Bhubaneswar: Passengers and railway officials at the Puri railway station were in for a surprise on Saturday when they saw a group of people, along with two priests, chanting “Jai Jagannath” and “Jai Maa Kali” and worshipping the tracks. Upon a closer look, it was found to be a puja for appeasement of Lord Jagannath and goddess Kali to prevent train accidents.
Jagannath Sena, a Puri-based organisation, conducted the puja on the tracks, seeking divine intervention to avert the an accident like the one in Bahanaga where 288 people died and over 1,000 injured.
“We prayed to Lord Jagannath and Maa Kali for the safety of train passengers across the country. We also prayed for the departed souls, involving the Bahanaga tragedy, and worshipped Maa Kali to ward off evil elements from the accident site. People from all communities joined the puja,” Jagannath Sena’s founder Priyadarshan Pattnaik said.
The two priests also worshipped the Puri-Delhi Neelachal Express and tied a sacred flag of the Jagannath Temple on the engine.
Several Delhi-bound passengers, who were in a state of panic in the wake of the June 2 Bahanaga tragedy, also took part in the puja and prayed for the safety of passengers.
“We were planning to perform the puja at the Bahanaga accident site. But we heard the station and the accident site have been sealed by the CBI as part of their investigation,” Pattnaik said.