Puri is all set for Bahuda Yatra

Sandip.Bal@timesgroup.com
It’s Bahuda Yatra tomorrow and the return journey of Lord Jagannath and his siblings is being held in consonance with Supreme Court instructions. The chariots stationed near Gundicha temple since Rath Yatra, took the dakhina mod, as security personnel turned the chariots to face the Jagannath Temple.

The Puri district administration has also imposed section 144 CrPC to keep devotees away from Badadanda. Besides, there are also restrictions near the Jagannath temple during other rituals of the deities like Sunabesha, Adharpana and Niladri Bije in the coming days.
Meanwhile the district administration has conducted Covid-19 tests on servitors, security forces and journalists who had attended the Rath Yatra on June 23. Among them, those who tested negative are being deployed during the Bahuda Yatra.
Like Rath Yatra, Bahuda Yatra is also being held keeping Covid-19 guidelines and lockdown restrictions in mind. Devotees will not be allowed near the raths while sevayats and police personnel will pull the chariots. “We have taken all possible measures to conduct the return car festival as per the guidelines,” said Puri District Magistrate Balwant Singh.