Bahuda Passes off Peacefully

BY: SUN STAFF CORRESPONDENT

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Jul 02, JAGANNATHA PURI, ORISSA — Devotees in droves came out to bid adieu to Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra as the iconic triad Deities wound up their annual journey at Gundicha temple and returned to Jagannath Temple on Thursday. The homecoming festival of the Deities, popularly known as Bahuda Yatra, passed off peacefully, officials said.

Though the sibling Deities reached Jagannath Temple, they will be escorted into the sanctum sanctorum on Sunday only. “On board Their respective chariots, the Deities would spend two days in front the Jagannath Temple before entering the shrine in a boisterous procession on Sunday evening,” Jagannath Temple Public Relations officer Laxmidhar Pujapanda said.

Buoyed by the clement weather, pilgrims in large numbers turned up on Bahuda Yatra, whose ambience was imbued with religious fervour, akin to Rath Yatra when the Deities had begun their nine-day sojourn on June 24.

Serenading devotees went gung-ho and jostled for a place to catch a glimpse of the triad Deities’ homecoming rituals. The three Deities boarded their respective chariots in scheduled time after completion of a set of rituals inside the Gundicha temple. Their Lordships then trekked the 3-km Grand Road to reach Their real abode-Jagannath Temple soon after Gajapati Dibyasigha Deb performed his conventional ‘sweeping ritual’ (chhera pahanra) on the floor of the chariots.

Giving a go-by to the temple administration’s decision to keep the chariots less crowded, a number of frenzied devotees climbed atop the chariots to go close to the Deities. Most of the devotees camouflaged themselves in priestly attires and occupied their places on the chariots.

The entire temple town, especially the chief arterial Grand Road where chariots rolled on, was heavily fortified to avoid any mishap. Nearly 60 platoon police forces were deployed in the city to conduct the mega festival. “Bahuda festival was a smooth-sailing. Barring few incidents of snatching and burglary, no major untoward incident was reported till evening,” a senior police official said. Sources in the district headquarters hospital revealed that nearly thirty pilgrims were admitted after they fainted in the crowd, but they were discharged soon after.

Notably, six pilgrims, including three women had died and scores were injured in the stampede on Rath Yatra last year.