Bhubaneswar: With less than ten days left for the world-famous Rath Yatra in Puri, the Odisha government is making all arrangements for smooth and orderly organisation of the annual festival on July 16.
As part of efforts to prevent unnecessary gathering near the three chariots, the authorities will drastically reduce the number of cordon passes and vehicle passes this time, Law Minister Prithviraj Harichandan said on Wednesday.
He said extensive preparations are being made to ensure the smooth and orderly conduct of the Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath and siblings in the pilgrim town.
“Compared to last year, the number of cordon passes will be reduced by around 50 percent, while vehicle passes will also be significantly curtailed. The movement of VVIPs and VIPs during the festival will be kept to a minimum to ensure better crowd management during the festival,” the Minister said.
Additionally, experienced officials have been assigned key responsibilities for crowd control and security arrangements, he said, adding that the administration is holding repeated consultations with the servitors, representatives of the Chhatisa Nijog, and other stakeholders to ensure seamless coordination this time.
Regular review meetings are also being held by the officials concerned to ensure that all rituals and ceremonial proceedings are completed on schedule. Special emphasis is being placed on ensuring that the chariot-pulling begins and progresses at the designated time.
