Bhubaneswar: The preparation for construction of chariots for this year’s Ratha Jatra at Odisha’s Puri town began on the occasion of Sripanchami today.

The Brahmin priests consecrated three logs for chariot construction in front of the office of Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) at the Holy Town by performing the traditional rituals in the evening.

The priests sanctified the three logs with ‘Panchamruta’ before performing other rituals.

They consecrated the three logs for the construction of Nandighosa chariot of Lord Jagannath, Taladhwaja chariot of Lord Balabhadra and Darpadalana chariot of Devi Subhadra for the annual Ratha Jatra.

SJTA chief administrator Arabinda Kumar Padhee, Puri district Collector Siddharth Shankar Swain and other senior officials were present on the occasion.

The Maharana servitors (carpenters) of the 12th century shrine require altogether 865 pieces of wood for construction of the three chariots for Ratha Jatra.

The state government usually sources good quality wood from Dashapalla forests in Nayagarh for construction of Chariots for the festival.