Puri Rath Yatra: Crack detected in axle of Devi Subhadra’s Darpadalana chariot

With the world famous Puri Rath Yatra only three days away, crack has been detected in one of the axles of Goddess Subhadra’s Darpadalan chariot on Saturday.

What has raised suspicion is the fact that attempts have been made to hide the crack using iron clamp and painting the affected region, sources said. People have raised concern on the incident as it has a potential to create problem during pulling of chariots on the occasion of Rath Yatra on June 20.

“We are observing that there is a crack. We want the district administration and Temple officials to take necessary measures at the earliest so that there are no issues like we witnessed in 2017,” said Binayak Dasmohapatra, a senior Daitapati.

Dasmohapatra said that it is not clear whether the matter was brought to the notice of the authorities or whether the Technical Committee was aware of the crack.

“We have repaired the axle with iron clamp at the appropriate spot. Every aspect has been examined including whether there is a threat to the chariot or not," a said a servitor.

Meanwhile, there is no need to change the axle of the chariot as a clamp is enough to keep the axle together. The crack is not big enough to pose problems during Rath Yatra, said NC Pal, Chief of the technical core committee after a high level meeting held today.