Puri Rath Yatra Mishap: Lord Balabhadra Falls On Servitors, 9 Injured

At least nine servitors of the Puri Jagannath temple were injured on Tuesday when the idol of Lord Balabhadra fell on them while it was being taken out from the chariot to a temple as part of the Rath Yatra festival, an official said.

Of the nine, five were admitted to a hospital while four others suffered minor injuries, Puri Collector Siddharth Shankar Swain said. The mishap happened shortly after 9 pm when the heavy wooden idol was being brought down from Lord Balabhadra's chariot to be taken to the Gundicha temple. This is known as 'Pahandi' ritual. It appears that those who were carrying the idol lost control of it.

An injured servitor said that the mishap happened due to some problem with the rope-like material tied to the idol. Two of those who were hospitalised were later released and they joined the rituals.

Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi expressed concern about the incident and wished for the speedy recovery of the injured servitors. He directed Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan to visit Puri immediately and take appropriate steps.

The Puri Jagannath temple is under the state government's law department. Deputy Chief Minister Pravati Parida also went to Puri and, along with Harichandan, visited the hospital and talked to the injured servitors.

“With the blessings of Lord Jagannath, all injured persons are doing fine and the rituals are also going on,” Harichandan told reporters. “We will report to the chief minister for further action,” Parida said.

The ritual of the sibling deities - Lord Jagannath, Devi Subhadra and Lord Balabhadra - resumed soon after the mishap and all the idols were taken inside the Gundicha temple, considered their birthplace. They will remain in the Gundicha Temple till ‘Bahuda Jatra' or the return car festival on July 15 when the deities will go back to the Jagannath temple.