Rukuna Rath Yatra: Chariot pulling stopped mid-way

Bhubaneswar: Pulling of ‘Rukuna Rath’ of Lord Lingaraj in Bhubaneswar had to be stopped for today after the chariot’s rope snapped thrice.

The Odisha Information and Public Relations department announced the decision to cancel chariot pulling due to shortage of ropes.

The chariot only moved for a few feet only today, informed sources.

“We cannot tell what went wrong due to which the rope snapped. Like every year, we had sourced the ropes from the Coir Board of India,” stated Manoj Mohanty, Additional Collector, Khurda.

“Though arranging a new rope is quite difficult, we will somehow get it to resume chariot pulling tomorrow,” he added.

Thousands of devotees, who gathered to witness the Rukuna Rath pulling, expressed their disappointment following the abrupt halt in chariot pulling.

“Perhaps for the first time in the history, pulling of the Rukuna Rath was stopped,” said Prakash, a devotee from Berhampur.