The seaside pilgrim town of Puri is set to celebrate the Rath Yatra festival on Friday, with the administration being ready to smoothly conduct the event.
The civil and police administrations are on high alert as lakhs of devotees will witness the annual event under tight security.
“By the grace of Mahaprabhu (Lord Jagannath), we are fully prepared to conduct a smooth Rath Yatra on Friday. We are getting complete support and cooperation from the servitors. All arrangements are in place to make the mega event successful,” Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) Chief Administrator Arabinda Padhee told reporters on Thursday.
After completion of all rituals, the pulling of chariots of the sibling deities - Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra and Lord Jagannath - will begin at 4 pm.
Lakhs of devotees from across the country and abroad are expected to participate in the event.
About one lakh have reached Puri by Thursday evening, police sources said.
Some of them had the opportunity to witness the ‘Nabajouban Darshan” (youthful appearance) of the trinity.
The deities appeared before the devotees after a fortnight. The public ‘darshan’ was stopped after the bathing ritual on June 11.
Watch: LIVE Rath Yatra 2025 Puri
"The deities do not appear before devotees since it is believed they fall ill after the bathing ritual. They remain in quarantine at 'Anasar Ghar' (isolation room) for a fortnight before the Rath Yatra," said Bhaskar Mishra, a researcher in the Jagannath culture.
Keeping in view the huge footfall, Odisha DGP Y B Khurania said elaborate security arrangements have been made for the event.
The town is heavily fortified with deployment of approximately 10,000 security personnel, including eight companies of Central Armed Police Forces.
Khurania said that for the first time, an Integrated Command and Control Centre has been opened in Puri to monitor the entire festival from close quarters.
Over 275 AI-enabled CCTV cameras have been installed across Puri and on the roads to Konark, 35 km away and famous for the 13th-century Sun Temple, for surveillance.
This apart, the DGP said that the National Security Guard (NSG) snipers will take positions on rooftops along Grand Road in front of the temple.
Police drones, anti-sabotage teams, bomb squads, and dog squads are also deployed. The Marine Police, Coast Guard, and Indian Navy will secure the seafront, he said.
Meanwhile, IMD in its evening bulletin forecast said thunderstorms with lightning with gusty surface wind speed reaching 30-40 kmph likely to occur in several districts including Puri on Friday.
While the Indian Railways runs 365 trains to Puri, the Odisha government has engaged around 800 buses to transport devotees from different districts.