Chants of 'Jai Jagannath' rent the air all over as the news about the Supreme Court giving its nod for holding the world famous car festival in the pilgrim town reached the state bringing cheers among people, irrespective of caste, creed and religion.
From Bhubaneshwar to Puri and beyond, here is the second part of Deepak Kripalani's Odisha travelogue.
Thousands of devotees joined the rathyatra of Lord Jagannath, which began in Ahmedabad on Tuesday morning from the Jagganath temple in Jamalpur amid tight security.
Puri Shankaracharya Swami Nischalananda Saraswati, along with his disciples, paid obeisance to the idols on their respective chariots.
"It is a matter of faith for crores. If Lord Jagannath will not come out tomorrow, he cannot come out for 12 years as per traditions," said Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who mentioned the matter before a bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra.
Samples of 1,143 servitors were tested on Monday night, as per directives of the Supreme Court.
Amid tight security, the 137th edition of Lord Jagannath's rathyatra began in Ahmedabad on Sunday morning from the ancient Jagannath Temple in Jamalpur area.
The elaborate rituals, which commenced early in the morning, concluded after the three wooden chariots of Lord Jagannath, his elder brother Lord Balabhadra and sister Goddess Subhadra reached their destination at Gundicha Temple from Sri Mandir well before evening.
'Lord Jagannath won't forgive us if we allow this year's Rath Yatra to go on'
Around 10 lakh people are expected to gather for the festival in the temple town from across the country, and some foreign nations, director of health service Bijay Mohapatra said.
Modifying its June 18 order in which it had said that this year's Yatra cannot be allowed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the apex court permitted holding of the Yatra after taking note of Odisha government's stand that it 'can be held in a limited way without public attendance'.
The Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) said it will set up an exclusive healthcare centre for the families of servitors. Ahead of the Rath Yatra, a massive sample collection exercise was conducted on Monday night and one servitor had tested positive, Chief Secretary A K Tripathy said.
Chief Secretary A K Tripathy and Director General of Police (DGP) Abhay rushed to the pilgrim town to make the necessary arrangements. "The DGP and I are rushing to Puri to take stock of the situation as per the direction of the chief minister. We will camp there," Tripathy said.
The Supreme Court had on Monday allowed the holding of the Rath Yatra in Odisha's Puri, a ground on which the Gujarat government had moved its plea.
A month ahead of the annual Rath Yatra, on July 12, the Odisha government on Thursday announced that this year, too, devotees will be barred from participating in the festival, which will only be held in Puri amid strict adherence to COVID-19 protocols.
As a 10 year old, it was what she dream of become. At 18, she achieved her dream.
Amid high alert and tight security in the wake of serial blasts at Bodh Gaya, the world famous annual Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath celebrated on Wednesday with fanfare, religious fervour and a spirit of camaraderie.
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi performed the traditional ritual of Pahind by sweeping the path with a golden broom, paving way for the Yatra to begin.
Over ten lakh devotees witnessed the world famous annual Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath held in Puri on Sunday with fanfare, religious fervour and enthusiasm amid tight security as the practice of people climbing the chariots was stopped in a major reform initiative.
The festival, however, will be different this time as the number of pilgrims and devotees would be cut down considerably after the recent floods played spoilsport and snapped transport lines connecting West Bengal and Orissa
In the backdrop of a terror threat, the world-famous Ratha Yatra festival was celebrated amidst tight security and religious fervour.
Several lakhs of devotees across the country and abroad will throng the holy town to participate in the annual Rath Yatra.
A woman was killed and three others were on Tuesday injured in a stampede during pulling of Ratha Yatra chariots from the Sri Jagannath temple in Puri, Orissa, in which hundreds of thousand people took part.
Aiming to spread the message of communal harmony, peace and team spirit, the Ahmedabad Police will organise cricket tournaments in communally-sensitive areas in the old city ahead of Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra on July 1, a police officer said on Monday.
Navy personnel perform yoga on board INS Vikramaditya. In the run-up to the International Day of Yoga, several naval ships are conducting yoga and meditation sessions on board.
Banerjee, who was flanked by newly-elected MP Nusrat Jahan and her husband Nikhil Jain, said, "Togetherness and tolerance for all faiths is the real religion."
He recalled that democracy-lovers had fought a big battle against the Emergency.
'Just today a shopkeeper I went to was saying how bad business is. He must have been a BJP supporter.' 'He finally said, "It's a good thing there's an NDA government, not a BJP government, 'they' had become too big for their boots,".'
The stampede on the banks of Godavari River in Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh added to India's notoriety for deaths due to such accidents, when sudden, uncontrollable crowds surge out of control.
The 78-year-old Naveen is on the cusp of creating history. He must win the forthcoming Assembly polls to become India's longest-serving chief minister, a record held by Sikkim's Pawan Kumar Chamling.
The stampede at Gandhi maidan in Patna added to India's notoriety for deaths due to such accidents, when sudden, uncontrollable crowds surge out of control Stampedes at temples and other religious places in India have claimed more than a thousand lives in the last 10 years in the country. Here is a look at some of the deadliest stampede to have happened in India.
Merely bringing down the government stake below 51% may not find any taker for the PSBs. The government must bring down its holding to at least 26%, recommends Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
The apex court said that no permission for prayers would be given for any other temple in Mumbai.
Tailor Kanhaiya Lal was killed on Tuesday afternoon by two cleaver-wielding men, Riaz Akhtari and Ghouse Mohammad, who posted a grisly video of the crime online claiming responsibility for the 'beheading'.
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