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Odisha Additional Director General (Law and Order) Sanjay Kumar on Friday said elaborate security and medical arrangements remain in place as the annual Rath Yatra resumed in Puri, with the chariots of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra continuing their journey to the Gundicha Temple after halting overnight on the Grand Road.
Speaking to ANI, Kumar said the overnight halt of the chariots was in keeping with the age-old tradition of the festival. "Mahaprabhu Jagannath, Devi Subhadra and Bhagwan Shri Balabhadra began the Rath Yatra yesterday. This tradition is thousands of years old. We move according to the Lord's will. We feel that yesterday it was the Lord's wish to stay at the Bada Danda, so He stayed there last night. Today, devotees will together take the Mahaprabhu to the Gundicha Temple," he said. Kumar said security deployment remained as stringent as the previous day, with personnel stationed in multiple layers around the chariots. "Our RAF personnel are deployed in the outer cordon, while Odisha Police personnel are in the inner cordon. Every senior officer has been assigned charge of one chariot. Clearance parties have been deployed on both sides and in front of each chariot to ensure devotees do not face any inconvenience," Kumar told ANI. He added that reserve forces and additional resources are being deployed wherever crowd density increases. "There are similar security arrangements for every chariot. Wherever we estimate that the crowd is increasing, we augment it with extra support. We have sufficient reserve forces, reserve officers, equipment and ropes, which are deployed immediately whenever required," he said. Kumar also said medical teams, ambulances and fire service personnel remain on standby to assist devotees in case of emergencies. "A very large number of devotees, including elderly people and those who are unwell, have come for the Rath Yatra. Some people experienced suffocation in the dense crowd. Our ambulances, stretchers and medical teams were fully prepared. Fire service personnel immediately shifted them for treatment. By the grace of the Lord, almost everyone has recovered, and the remaining few are also expected to return home today," he said. On Thursday night, devotees were seen making way for an ambulance after several pilgrims fell ill during the procession.According to the Chief Minister's Office (CMO), seven persons felt unwell and were immediately evacuated by deployed personnel and shifted to the hospital. "Among them, one male devotee aged above 60 years unfortunately succumbed, and the exact cause of death is being ascertained by the concerned authorities," the CMO said. Meanwhile, Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader Sanjay Das Burma, who said he was sent by party president Naveen Patnaik to oversee the welfare of devotees, claimed that two devotees had died and several others were affected during the Rath Yatra. "At the Puri Medical College, two devotees have died, around 121 trauma cases have been identified, and nearly 250-300 devotees have been affected during the Rath Yatra. All trauma patients who require further treatment should be shifted to Bhubaneswar, and the government should ensure full medical care and assistance for everyone admitted," Das Burma said. (ANI)
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