7 days ago
City celebrates Bahuda Yatra with devotion
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Bhubaneswar: The capital city was soaked in religious fervour on Saturday as thousands of devotees gathered at Mausi Ma temples to celebrate the return journey of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra.
Amid chants, rituals and colourful processions, devotees pulled more than 50 chariots in the city on Bahuda Yatra.
From early morning, temples were abuzz with activities as priests rushed to complete rituals on time. People thronged the temples to get a glimpse of the deities on the 'Adapa Mandap'. Following Pahandi and other rituals, shrine premises and streets were filled with people of all ages, as they pulled the chariots back to Jagannath temples.
"It was also an emotional moment for us. We felt so blessed to host the sibling deities. From now, we will have to wait for another year when the deities will come to our temple again," said Pitambar Panda, a priest at Mausi Ma temple in Baramunda.
Commissionerate police made elaborate arrangements to ensure an inident-free Bahuda Yatra in different localities and deployed 17 platoons of forces. Traffic diversions were in place on different roads, including NH-16, for the pulling of chariots.
At the 13th century Patia Jagannath Temple, the Bahuda Yatra was celebrated with devotion. At the Mausi Ma temple at Gajapati Nagar, from where the sibling deities returned to RCM Jagannath Temple, hundreds of devotees from tribal communities took part in chariot pulling. Similarly, the road from Gandamunda to Khandagiri was filled with devotees as they pulled the chariot amid troupes of folk dancers and cultural performers to the Jagannath Temple in Jagamara.
Children pulled the beautifully decorated chariot at Bada Danda Sahi. "We tried our best to make the festival a grand success and follow the rituals of the Jagannath Temple in Puri and engage youngsters," said Sushil Praharaj of Badhei Banka Rath Yatra Committee.
Thousands of devotees gathered at Shivani Kshetra on KISS campus and sought blessings by pulling the beautifully decorated Nandighosh, Taladhwaja and Darpadalan chariots. Women devotees pulled the chariot of Devi Subhadra.
"Bahuda Yatra was celebrated in different localities peacefully," said a senior police officer. Volunteers and medical teams were deployed to manage the crowd and handle any emergency.
