Puri: The annual sojourn of Lord Jagannath and his holy siblings has begun in Puri. Lord Balabhadra’s chariot is the first one to be pulled from the entrance of the Srimandir towards Gundicha temple.
Taladhwaja, the chariot of Lord Balabhadra, started rolling on Bada Danda amidst chanting of hymns, blowing of conchs and beating of gongs and cymbals at 12:05pm – almost on time predecided by the temple administration.
This year, the Supreme Court has put a bar on devotees pulling the chariots. Only 500 servitors and police personnel are allowed per chariot and a curfew is in place across the town to bar congregation of devotees.
Each of the persons pulling chariots Tuesday underwent COVID-19 testing earlier Monday. They were permitted to pull the chariot after testing negative. The number 500 includes officials and police personnel.
PNN