FESTIVAL FACTS

Three wooden chariots are built for the Puri car festival every year. A look at what it involves. ■ Jagannath’s rath, Nandighosh, is 45.5 ft high. It has 16 wheels and its roof is covered with red and yellow fabric.

■ Balabhadra’s rath, Taladhwaja, is 45 ft high. It has 14 wheels and its roof is covered with red and green cloth.

■ Devadalana, Subhadra’s rath, is 44.5ft high. It has 12 wheels and its roof is covered with red and black fabric.

■ Seven groups of people, numbering over 200, work for approximately two months to build the three raths. The construction of the raths begins on Akhshaya Tritiya.

■ ₹4.85 crore was the budget for last year’s Rath Yatra festival. This year the estimated budget is ₹6 crore.

■ Approximately 865 trees are felled every year for the wood to build the three chariots.

■ Four kinds of trees can be used to build the chariots. These are locally known as Asana, Dhaura, Simli and Phasi.

■ Traditionally, the wood for building the chariots is sourced from the Nayagrah and Khordah forest divisions. Devotees also donate trees to the temple for the chariots.

■ In the early 2000s, the state government started the Jagannath Bana Prakalpa, a project to plant the trees needed to build the raths, says the temple administration.

■ For the past few years, the temple administration has been selling the wheels of the raths after the yatra - mainly to corporate houses – for display and worship. Wood from the rest of the rath is used as fuel to cook Jagannath’s bhog.