Puri: The second lot of wood for construction of three chariots for Rath Yatra arrived in the Pilgrim Town on Wednesday.
Total 18 logs of Asana and Dhaura trees came in trucks from Nayagarh forest range. While five logs measure 12 feet in length, the rest 13 logs are 20-ft long. The logs were unloaded from a truck near the royal palace, here.
Out of total 865 logs needed for construction of the three chariots, 80 unused logs from the last year’s Rath Yatra are in the stock of Jagannath Temple.
With the second lot, total 81 logs have arrived, while the rest 704 logs will arrive in subsequent phases from Natyagarh and Boudh forest ranges, sources said. The first lot of 63 logs had arrived in the town on February 2.
Of the total logs, 442 pieces will be sent to saw mills for making planks to be used as platforms in the chariots and the rest 363 pieces will be used by Maharana servitors for making other parts like wheels, axles, idols of Gods and Goddesses and other materials.
The initial rituals for starting the construction of chariots for Rath Yatra were performed by worshipping the logs on the auspicious occasion of Saraswati Puja on February 5. The construction work of the chariots will begin at ‘Rath Khala’ (workshop for making chariots) on the Grand Road of the town on the auspicious day of Akshay Tritiya on May 3.
The chariots will be constructed for each of the three deities, Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra for the Rath Yatra.
