Puri: Today is the world-famous festival of Lord Sri Jagannath. There will be a wonderful reunion of devotees and Gods. The Lord, who is seen from the gem throne, will appear today on the chariot. Chariots and paths have already been prepared in Badadanda. The Lord will come from the temple and ride in a chariot. Three chariots were pulled from the chariot yard and taken to the front of the sinhan dwar yesterday. The chariots are kept under tight security by the armed forces.
Two years later, devotees from across the state and across the country are flocking to Puri to watch the world famous rath yatra. The whole of Badadanda and the coastal areas are now populated. Extensive security measures have been put in place by water, land and air. Also senior state police officers are stationed in Puri to monitor the security situation so that no terrorist activities can be organized during the rath yatra.
In addition, security has been beefed up on trains arriving in Puri, with closed-circuit cameras, search dogs and bomb disposal teams at the railway station. One-way traffic control measures have been put in place to keep an eye on the crowds. Specially trained armed police have been deployed on high-rise buildings on both sides of the Srimandir.
During this period of the year, people believe that Lord Jagannath along with all his siblings including brother Lord Balabhadra and their sister, Goddess Subhadra pay a visit to their aunt’s house. Their aunt’s house is the Gundicha temple, which is near about three kilometres away from Lord Jagannath temple.