Security tightened as Rath Yatra celebrations kick-off
RANCHI: The religious fervour of thousands on Wednesday marked the beginning of the annual Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath and his siblings Subhadra and Balbhadra, at the Jagannathpur temple in Ranchi, even as authorities kept a strict vigil on proceedings.
The district administration ensured proper safety on the inaugural day — which witnesses the maximum footfall — by deploying around 400 police and security personnel at the venue.
“We have installed CCTV cameras to keep proper vigil at the fair and to ensure people’s safety. There is a dog squad and magistrates to check that any untoward incident does not take place. We have also done barricading at 14 places,” said Dhurwa police officials.
For the temple management, the elaborate rituals for whom begin at 4 am and continue till late afternoon, the start of the festivities was business as usual.
“On the first day, Lord Jagannath and his siblings are carried on a chariot and reach Mausi Bari (a distance of half a kilometre), where they will spend ten days. On the tenth day, they will be brought back to the main temple,” Jagannathpur Mandir Nyas Samiti manager Manoj Kumar Tiwari said.
The wooden chariot, which carries the deities, stands 35 feet high and 21 feet wide and
DISTRICT ADMIN ENSURED PROPER SAFETY BY DEPLOYING 400 POLICE AND SEXCURITY PERSONNEL AT THE TEMPLE
has eight wheels. According to the temple management, the 40 tonne chariot has been in use since 2007, with only a few minor repairs every year.
The Jagannathpur temple was built in Ranchi in 1691 and the Rath Yatra celebrations have taken place every year since then.
The 10-day Rath Yatra, though primarily celebrated in neighbouring Odisha, is an important religious festival for Jharkhand too. The accompanying fair, which is spread across a large area leading to the main Jagannathpur temple, remains a major attraction for visitors.
Shopkeepers who run makeshift stalls around the temple say that the footfall during the Rath Yatra may have increased, but their own sales have remained static or have decreased.
Ram Baran Mahto from West Bengal said has been coming to the fair for the past 12 years. He said that while the footfall of people had increased over the years, it did not get reflected in their sales and profit.
“We have not been making as much profit in the recent years as we did before,” he said adding that local goons collected up to `6,000 per stall as bribe every year from the shopkeepers,” Lalan Pandit, another shopkeeper who has been setting up shop at the fair for the past 40 years, said.