Visakhapatnam (Odisha Tazanews) :- The Annual Car Festival was celebrated at the Jagannath Temple situated in the scenic hills of Dasapalla in Visakhapatnam with much pomp and massive fanfare. Commencing from the wee hours of the dawn Magala Arati and other religious rituals were performed before the Deities in a solemn atmosphere. Unprecedented enthusiasm and excitements were witnessed among the 5,000 Odia and non Odia devotees congregated here during the August Ceremony. Elaborate arrangements were made to maintain discipline and decorum during the Mega Event under the able and active stewardship of renowned social leader ,Vice President of Orissa Stevedores Ltd. and President of Temple’s Management Committee Utkal Sanskrutika Samaj, Jitendra Kumar Nayak.
Around 3.00 p.m. in the afternoon the Pahandi Bije of the Gods and Goddess began from the sanctum sanctorum. First Lord Sudarshan, then elder Brother Lord Balabhadra, followed by Devi Subhadra and at the end Lord of the universe Lord Jagannath were taken in a mammoth procession to the colourfully decorated chariot stationed in front of the temple. The entire atmosphere got reverberated with recitals of hymns, shouting of slogans like Haribol, Jai Jagannath and playing of musical instruments such as Ghanta, Kartala, Mardala, Jhanja and Mrudanga. President of the Managing Committee Jitendra Kumar Nayak conducted the traditional sweeping on the chariots in golden broom called Chherapahanra.
At around 4.30 p.m. in the afternoon pulling of Chariot began from Dasapalla hills. The majestic chariot with the Four Deities on board reached the Aunt’s house at Lawsons Bay Colony in evening at around 7.30 p.m. covering the distance of nearly 6 km. The special attractions during the Royal Sojourn, were recitals of popular folk music and presentation of dance performances by cultural troupes from Odisha. After the conclusion of Yatra the Idols were taken to the Aunt’s house and were placed in the pandal. The Deities will remain at the Gundicha Temple till the Bahuda Yatra on 24th July 2026 and will be available for darshan for general public from there.
This year’s Festival was actively supported by Marwadi Yuva Manch and Punjab Association. The entire arrangements of Rathayatra was well managed and smoothly conducted by the overall guidance of the Temple’s management committee, which include President Jitendra Kumar Nayak, General Secretary Satyabrata Dwivedi, Vice President Somnath Sahu, Biraj Kumar Dash, members Seema Mohanty, Ajit Sabat, Bijay Mahapatra, Rajendra Prasad Sahu, Banamali Sahu, Arun Das and Satya Narayan Behera.
