Mini chariot on standby at Koraput’s Sabar Srikhetra

Koraput: The authorities of the Sabar Srikhetra here have built a mini-chariot, to be rolled within the temple premises for the Rath Yatra, scheduled on June 23, even as the Centre has allowed the state government to start building regular chariots for the festival in Puri.
The temple authorities said the mini-chariot would be pulled only if the pulling of the bigger chariot was disallowed.
“Pulling of regular-sized chariot on Rath Yatra will be dependent on the situation at the time. Hence, we have kept a mini-chariot ready in case we can’t hold the festival in a bigger manner. This will ensure that tradition is maintained,” said Gadadhar Parida, secretary of temple management committee.
The tiny chariot is nine feet wide and 30 feet high. It has four wheels and was constructed after measuring the space available within the temple premises.
“The chariot will be pulled for 90 meters within the premises. A Gundicha temple has been built as well where the deities will stay for nine days,” said Parida.
The festival would be observed without the congregation of devotees, he added.
Parida, however, added that if the district administration permitted the construction of bigger chariots, those would be built from June 5, on the occasion of Snana Purnima. “Work will be completed before the Rath Yatra. In that case, we will make arrangements to observe the festival in the open,” he said.
The temple administration began the use of three chariots in place of one from last year. The celebration of Rath Yatra at the Sabar Srikhetra began in 1972.