A day after the Union Home Ministry gave its nod for construction of chariots for the annual Rath Yatra in Puri, the Odisha government announced a series of measures for expediting chariot construction.
“We have discussed the issue of chariot construction in view of Home Ministry’s nod,” said Kishan Kumar, Chief Administrator of the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA), on Friday. “We want to speed up construction in order to compensate time lost due to lockdown,” he added.
“Steps will be taken to make Ratha Khala — the place of chariot construction — bigger. There could be buffer space of 100 to 200 feet which would be treated as no-man’s land,” said Mr. Kumar.
Traditionally, the construction of three chariots begins on the auspicious day of Akshaya Tritiya, which fell on April 26 this year. Traditional carpenters take about two months to make these chariots ready in time for the Rath Yatra.
Also read: Decision on Puri Rath Yatra after May 3
The SJTA chief said all the workers and carpenters would undergo a COVID-19 test as the government did not want to take any chances.
Besides, the government was considering accommodating all those involvement in chariot making in the Bhakta Niwas, which has 100 to 150 rooms, till the completion of chariot construction. The proposal was mooted to nullify any chances of infection both from and to the family members of the traditional carpenters.
The Home Ministry had on Thursday allowed chariot construction with a condition that no religious congregation should take place around the Ratha Khala .
The ministry, however, made it clear that the State government would take final call on holding Rath Yatra, scheduled for June 24, keeping in view the conditions prevailing at that point of time.
The Sevayats or traditional priests, who have been serving at the 12-century Shree Jagannath Temple, have been insisting that the mega festival be held as per schedule.
Rath Yatra attracts lakhs of devotees from all corners of India and overseas. Over a million devotees congregate during the nine-day-long festival in Puri. If the Ratha Yatra could not be held in view of the prevailing situation, the chariots would be dismantled and the logs would be used as fuel in the temple’s central kitchen.
