News from Puri

The fourth day of the 13th International Sand Art Festival underway on the pristine beach of Chandrabhaga on Monday witnessed magnificent sand sculptures on the themes of ‘Climate Change' and ‘Atithi Devo Bhava’. 

Darshan will be suspended from 5 pm to 10 pm today following the second Bhoga Mandap ritual.

As per reports, more than a thousand people live in these five villages. Although there is a road link to Konark and Kakatpur for the movement of the people, it takes forty kilometres on the Kakatpur road to reach their block.

If everything goes the way as planned, devotees will no longer have to wait in the sun and rain outside the Lion’s Gate for entry into Puri Srimandir. 

The long-awaited laser scanning of the Ratna Bhandar of Puri Srimandir was started on Tuesday. A 15-member team of the ASI along with architects, and experts in surveillance and photography were part of the laser scanning exercise.

The laser scanning on 12 points on the northern and upper part of the Ratna Bhandar was done on Wednesday. A report will be prepared which will be submitted to the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) and the Orissa High Court.  

Following an order from the Orissa High Court in 2018, a team of 17 members examined the condition of the Ratna Bhandar, but they could not enter inside as the key of the Ratna Bhandar was not available. 

As per tradition, they will also sail boats, either made of paper, plantain trunk or thermo cool, in water bodies and on the sea in Puri. They have started preparations for ‘Danga Bhasa’ (boat sailing) on Kartik Purnima on Monday.

The SJTA administrator said that the Archeological Survey of India has got a laser scanning machine and will carry out the scanning, particularly after the crowds thin out.

Two students of Narayan Vidyapitha demonstrated their project on how to prevent boat mishaps at the Science Exhibition organised at Kamaleswar Nodal School under Krushnaprasad block of Puri district. 

As per the tradition, five special attires of Lord Jagannath take place in Puri during this period.

Umashankar Das, a devotee from Gunupur, termed the appeal of the SJTA administrator to the elderly devotees as a derisive remark. 

All makeshift shops and street vending units along the stretch of the Bada Danda from the Srimandir to Marichikote Chhak will remain shut while vehicular movement on the Grand Road will be restricted from Market Chhak.

Harichandan’s reaction came after SJTA chief Ranjan Kumar Das made an appeal, saying that elderly and sick devotees should not come during rush days for darshan.

This is a once-in-a-year opportunity for the devotees to see and admire the ‘Odiani Besha’ of Goddess Radha and ‘Natabara Besha’ of Lord Krishna making them queue up at the temple from early in the morning.