Ranchi : Excitement and fervour are at its peak for the Jagannathpur Rath Yatra fairbeginning on Thursday. Jagannathpur temple and the chariot are decorated with lighting and flowers and the stalls are busy with last minute preparations. Worshippers have started thronging the premises from Wednesday, a day before the event.
“A day before the car festival ‘netradan’ is the culmination of 15-day-long beautification process of Lord Jagannath, Balbhadra and goddess Subhadra . In the evening ‘105 mangal arti’ was held after which people got ‘darshan’ of the gods,” said Rameshwar Padhi, the priest.
He said, “From Thursday, the pilgrims will visit the temple from 5am till 2pm. The Rath Yatra will begin then. RSS volunteers will mainly control the crowd so that the pilgrims do not face any inconvenience.”
The chariot will be decorated with marigold flowers and colourful clothes. The Marwari Sahayak Samiti has taken the charge of decoration. In 2007, the new chariot was made by designers from Odisha, said Mahabir Lohar, a member of the chariot samiti.
Many committees have been formed to make the fair a success. “We help the administration take care of street lighting. Around 200 volunteers have been deployed in a group of 10 to 15. The entry of vehicles will be closed as this is the main road from where the chariot will move,” secretary, fair security committee.