Rath Yatra: Chariot Works In Puri To Be Finished In Next 3 Days

Puri: Amidst speculations regarding the celebration of annual Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath during Covid pandemic, carpenters carving the chariots of the Holy Trinity for the Car Festival meanwhile are all set to finish the construction work in next three days.

Though rain interrupted the construction work on Monday, the Maharana, Rupakar, Chitrakar, Bhoi and Kamar servitors are working to complete the work at the earliest. The altar and throne works of chariot where the deities will be placed on the chariots have been completed and now ‘prabha’ work is underway. Similarly, the painters are carrying out the painting of subsidiary deities (parswa deva devi) to be fitted in the outer parts of the chariots.

“If we continue to keep up the current pace of work, we expect the work will complete soon if there is no adverse weather. But in case of incessant rain, the chariot works will hamper,” said Narasingha Mohapatra, chief carpenter of Taladhwaja, chariot of Lord Balabhadra.

Chittaranjan Maharana, a Chitrakar sevak, said, “Due to lockdown, we are facing resource constraints during the chariot work. However, we are trying to manage with all raw materials that we currently have and hope that the construction will complete soon.”

Meanwhile, Raj Vaidya (the royal doctor of the deities) has prepared Ayurvedic medicine ‘dasamula modaka’ to cure the ailing deities of Sri Jagannath Temple who are still recuperating from fever following the symbolic bath on Snana Purnima. He has handed over the ayurvedic sweet to the temple administration where the servitors will administer the medicine to the Holy Trinity in their secret Anasara chamber.

On the other hand, the Chaka Bije rituals of the deities will be conducted today, sources said.

Notably, a bench comprising Orissa High Court Chief Justice Mohammad Rafiq and Justice SK Mishra had earlier ordered that the chariot construction work should be completed by June 22 so that the festival can be held without any deviation in tradition.

(Edited by Suryakant Jena)

Read More: No Rath Yatra This Year In Odisha, Supreme Court Stalls Festival In Wake Of Covid-19 Pandemic

Read More:

Rath Yatra 2020: Plea In SC Seeking Stay On Rath Yatra In View Of Covid-19 Pandemic

Hold Rath Yatra Sans Devotees, Seal Puri Completely: Temple Managing Committee Member Raghunath Mohapatra