Bhubaneswar, July 15 (IANS) The holy city of Puri in Odisha is gearing up for the world-famous Ratha Yatra, during which the divine siblings, Lord Jagannath, his elder brother Lord Balabhadra, and sister Devi Subhadra, will embark on their nine-day annual sojourn to the Gundicha Temple from the 12th-century Jagannath Temple on July 16 (Thursday).

On Wednesday, the chariots of the holy siblings are being ceremonially moved from the traditional construction site, or ‘Ratha Khala’, to near the Lion’s Gate of the Jagannath Temple in the holy coastal town of Puri as part of the final preparations for the annual Rath Yatra.

Gripped with ecstasy and religious fervour, lakhs of devotees from across the globe, who have gathered in Puri to witness the grand spectacle, will pull the chariots of Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra, and Subhadra — Nandighosh, Taladhwaja, and Darpadalan respectively — for around 3 km to the Gundicha Temple on Thursday.

The Gundicha Temple is believed by the holy texts to be the birthplace of the Chaturddha Murti (Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra, Maa Subhadra, and Sudarshan). Various departments of the state government have made elaborate preparations to ensure a smooth and incident-free Rath Yatra on Thursday.

Speaking to media persons, Chief Administrator of the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) Arabinda Kumar Padhe said, “All the preparations for the Rath Yatra have entered the final stage.”

He informed that the ‘Netrotsav’ and ‘Nava Yauvana Darshan’ rituals, which offer the first glimpse of the deities after their 14-day isolation following their ceremonial recuperation from fever, were held on Tuesday smoothly as per the schedule. Padhee further added that the rituals on Wednesday are going on as per the schedule as well. The district administration, police and severtitors are all prepared for the Rath Yatra to begin from Thursday.

He informed that the Pahandi Bije ritual, the ceremonial procession in which the holy triads step out of the temple to embark on the nine-day journey, is scheduled to begin between 9 and 9.30 a.m. on Thursday.

Earlier, Puri Collector Dibya Jyoti Parida stated that the administration has made comprehensive arrangements for this year’s Rath Yatra, focusing on crowd control, security, essential services and the convenience of devotees arriving from across the country and abroad.

Meanwhile, the Puri district police have put in place dynamic traffic arrangements, keeping in view the inflow and outflow of vehicles visiting Puri to ensure smooth traffic movement. The police have installed 595 permanent and 1,050 temporary signages for public convenience. Around 12,000 police personnel, along with adequate number of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF), will be deployed for security arrangements during the festival.

The Indian Coast Guard and the Indian Navy will also remain on alert to check any illegal activities through the coastal route. Meanwhile, as many as 19 senior IPS officers have been assigned the duty to supervise the overall security arrangements.

The state government has installed 473 CCTV cameras to keep a watch on the movement of devotees and 65 large LED screens to disseminate important information to devotees in Odia, Hindi and English. Similarly, 16 permanent mobile towers and several temporary towers have also been set up to strengthen communication services. Bulk messaging facilities will also be used to disseminate information.

–IANS

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