Rath Yatra 2025: Chariot pulling halted amid prolonged delay, to resume tomorrow

The annual Rath Yatra witnessed an unexpected disruption on Friday as the Nandighosa chariot of Lord Jagannath was delayed without clear reasons before it finally began rolling at 7:45 PM. Sources on the ground reported that the chariot was pulled for a short distance before the pulling was halted. Following this, chariot-pulling activities were suspended for the day.

Speaking to the media, the Chief Administrator of the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration confirmed that the chariot pulling will resume tomorrow. Meanwhile, the two other chariots also faced roadblocks:

The Taladhwaja chariot of Lord Balabhadra was stuck at Balgandi Chhak, while the Darpadalana chariot of Devi Subhadra came to a halt near the Town Police Station at Marichikot.

“With the blessings of Lord Jagannath, all the rituals were performed at the stipulated time this year. All the rituals and practices that were supposed to be done were performed perfectly on time without any problem. The chariot pulling was also started by 4 PM,” informed Law Minister Pruthviraj Harichandan.

He further added, “However, it takes a lot of time to pull the chariot of Lord Balabhadra. So, there was a bit of delay. Moreover, there were a huge number of devotees who participated today as compared to previous years.”

“Due to the delay, we had to halt the chariot pulling as per the ritual, and it will be continued tomorrow morning. All the devotees who are here will get the opportunity to pull the chariots again tomorrow,” he added.