Key Points

"No major incidents occurred during this year's Ratha Yatra, which is the biggest blessing of Lord Jagannath on all of us. The devotees may have faced some minor problems but no major incidents or disruptions had taken place," said the law minister.

On Friday, barring some minor delays during the Pahandi ritual of the deities, all other the rituals related to the Ratha Yatra were completed as per the schedule fixed by the Jagannath temple administration.

However, inordinate delay occurred during the pulling of chariots triggering discontent among the devotees gathered at the holy city.

The chariots of Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra (Taladhwaja and Darpadalana) stopped midway while Nandighosh, the chariot of Lord Jagannath, was halted just few feet away from the Jagannath Temple's lion gate.

While answering queries regarding the inordinate delay in the pulling of the chariots, the law minister said, "all the rituals completed as per the schedule and the pulling of chariots began at 4 p.m. But, the pulling of the chariot of Lord Balabhadra on the Bada Danda (Grand Road) took much time due to some problem occurring at the turning points. This apart, this year a huge turnout of devotees -- more than 1.5 times that of previous years -- occurred for the Ratha Yatra due to the favorable weather conditions today."

He further stated that the turnout of devotees was beyond the expectations of the administration.

Similarly, the presence of huge crowds inside the cordon around the chariots caused the inordinate delay as the police officials failed to clear the people in time.

Harichandan stated that, in accordance with scriptural rules, Lord Jagannath's Nandighosh chariot was pulled for a short distance despite the significant delay. Many devotees who wanted to pull the chariot of Lord Jaganath's Nandighosh can fulfil their aspirations on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the Chief Administrator of the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA), Arabinda Kumar Padhee on Friday announced that the pulling of chariots will resume on Saturday at around 9 a.m.

Governor of Odisha Hari Babu Kambhampati, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and several other dignitaries along with lakhs of devotees witnessed the divine lila or play of Lord Jagannath and his siblings in the scared coastal town of Puri on Friday.

The Ratha Yatra festival of Lord Jagannath and his siblings was observed throughout the nook and corner of Odisha with pomp and gaiety on Friday.

- IANS