Even as the chariots of Lord Jagannath and Devi Subhadra reached Saradhabali in front of Gundicha temple on Wednesday, speculations are rife on what led to the delay for which all the three chariots could not reach their destination on the same Rath Yatra day.
Though the chariot of Lord Balabhadra was pulled up to Gundicha temple yesterday, the pulling of chariots of Lord Jagannath and Devi Subhadra had to be halted.
Questions over delay are now being asked as most of the rituals including 'pahandi' and pulling of chariots were completed much before their schedule yesterday. Despite this, all the chariots could not reach Gundicha temple on the same day.
When contacted, Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) Chief Administrator Ranjan Das said, “We cannot say whether Mahaprabhu stopped to give darshan to some Salabega or Friend Mohanty. We are reviewing the reasons for the delay.”
According to Das, 'it cannot be clearly stated at this point as there is a huge difference between a man’s wish and Lord Jagannath’s wish'.
Senior servitor, Binayak Das Mohapatra said, “There is no human error but there was a delay in controlling Taladhwaja chariot. What we saw is there were excess people on chariots.”
According to Das Mohapatra, there were a lot of people inside the cordon without passes. “There was also excess heat and humidity on Rath Yatra day and the servitors were also taking rest during Pahandi,” Das Mohapatra added.
When asked about the presence of a crowd inside the inner and outer cordon, SJTA chief administrator said, “We will review the matter with senior officials of Odisha Police.”