Puri: Lord Balabhadra slipped on ‘Charamala’ (makeshift stairs) on the chariot while being taken by servitors during ‘Pahandi’ (grand procession) in Odisha’s Puri town on Tuesday.
Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra had arrived at Gundicha temple in their respective chariots pulled by the devotees as part of Rath Yatra on Monday. The process of their entry into the temple began in the evening.
After the rituals were performed on the chariots for the grand entry, the ‘Pahandi’ of the Lords began. While being taken in ‘Pahandi’ from his chariot Taladhwaja to the ‘Adapa Mandap’ of Gundicha temple, Lord Balabhadra slipped on the ‘Charamala’.
However, the servitors promptly restored the Lord to his normal position. But in the process, five servitors were injured and rushed to the District Headquarters Hospital (DHH). Two servitors have suffered fractures in their fingers in the incident.
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has expressed his concern over the incident and directed Law Minister Prithviraj Harichandan to rush to Puri to take stock of the situation. He has also told the officials to ensure necessary treatment of the injured servitors.
