Ratha Jatra celebrated in Vizag

Visakhapatnam: Residents of Visakhapatnam celebrated the holy Ratha Jatra at the Jagannath Temple in the scenic hills of Dasapalla.

The Temple’s managing body Utkal Sanskrutika Samaj made arrangements for the annual chariot pulling ceremony of the Lord and his siblings. The rituals began for early morning. As many as 3,000 people had gathered outside the temple to participate the annual car festival.

Around 3 pm, the Pahandi Bije of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra commenced from the Temple with the help of Anup Kumar Satpathy ,DRM of Waltair Railways Division and ADRM Manoj Kumar Sahoo.  With a grand procession, the deities were taken to the colourfully decorated chariot stationed in front of the temple.  Recitals of hymns, chantings of ‘Hari Bol’ and ‘Jai Jagannath’ reverberated along with the playing of ghanta, kartala, mardala, jhanja and mrundanga.  Erstwhile ruler of Dasapalla- Lal Saheb Pramod Deo Bhanja conducted the traditional sweeping of the chariots called ‘Chherapahanra’.  A troupe from Odisha’s Berhampur played gong bells and cymbals during the Pahandi.

The chariot pulling started from Daspalla hills and reached the Aunt’s house at Lawson’s Bay Colony covering the distance of around 5 km by 7 pm. The deities were then taken inside Mausima’s place and were placed in the pandal. They will remain at the Gundicha Temple till the Bahuda Jatra on July 9, 2022 and give darshan to the public from there, announced by the President of managing committee and Vice President Orissa Stevedores Ltd Jitendra Kumar Nayak.

The entire arrangement was managed and executed by the president of the governing body of Utkal Sanskrutika Samaj  Jitendra Kumar Nayak, secretary Bimal Mohanta, members Bijay Mahapatra and Rajendra Prasad Sahu.