Now ‘Bahuda’ challenge beckons

Puri: With the first phase of Rath Yatra festival – the onward journey of the Trinity – passing off peacefully, ‘Bahuda’ (the return journey), ‘Sunabesa’ (golden adornment), ‘Adhara Pana’ (offering of special drinks to the deities) and ‘Niladri Bije’ (ingression of the deities into the temple) are the major challenge left for the police and […]

Puri-Rath-Yatra-2014

Puri: With the first phase of Rath Yatra festival – the onward journey of the Trinity – passing off peacefully, ‘Bahuda’ (the return journey), ‘Sunabesa’ (golden adornment), ‘Adhara Pana’ (offering of special drinks to the deities) and ‘Niladri Bije’ (ingression of the deities into the temple) are the major challenge left for the police and the administration.

All the four pending rituals, the conclusion of which will mark the end of the mega Rath Yatra, brings challenges similar to that of the onward journey of the deities. What weighs heavily in the minds the officials is the fact that the elaborate crowd control arrangements couldn’t stave off two deaths during the onward journey.