The Bahuda Yatra, Lord Jagannath’s return journey with his siblings to the main shrine, passed without any hiccups in the holy town of Puri.

The event marks the end of the nine-day sojourn of the deities at Shree Gundicha Temple, popularly known as their birthplace.

To ensure that no untoward incident occurred like that during the Rath Yatra, when the idol of Lord Balabhadra, the elder brother of Lord Jagannath, fell from the makeshift ladder of the chariot (caramel) while being brought from the chariot, this time, the temple administration ensured that no outsiders were allowed to climb to the chariots on the Bahuda Yatra.

The idol of Lord Balabhadra fell while being brought down from the chariot while being taken to Shree Gundicha temple after reaching from the main shrine during the Rath Yatra.

During the Bahuda Yatra, on Monday, only the designated servitors who had been assigned with specific rituals to perform, were allowed to remain on the decks of the chariots so that a chaotic situation like would be avoided.

The servitors were also banned from carrying mobile phones to the chariots. The chief administrator of the temple, Arabinda Padhee, was seen asking the non-designated servitors to climb down from the chariots. When a non-servitor was found on the chariot-Darpadalan, the chariot of Goddess Subhadra, Padhee was seen asking him to alight from the chariot. He even ordered a probe to find out how the non-servitor could climb onto the chariot.

To ensure the successful completion of the Bahuda Yatra, the Mohan Majhi government had also deputed its three ministers — deputy chief minister Pravati Parida, law minister Prithviraj Harichandan and culture minister Suryabanshi Suraj — to Puri to supervise the entire administration-related matters with regard to the Bahuda Yatra. The three ministers will remain in Puri till the completion of the entire rath yatra.

The deities will enter the main shrine, Niladri Vije, on July 19, marking the end of the Rath Yatra. After the chariots reach the main shrine, the deities will remain on the chariots’ mount until July 19. On July 17, the deities will be adorned with gold ornaments and give darshan from the chariots, known as Suna Vesha.

Amidst frenzied religious fervour, the Bahuda Yatra of Lord Jagannath and siblings, were held on Monday. Amid the chants of “ Jai Jagannath” and frenzied beatings of gongs and cymbals, the chariots of Lord Balabhadra (Taladhwaja), Goddess Subhadra (Darpadalan) and Lord Jagannath (Nandighosh) were pulled by lakhs of devotees. A sea of humanity moved with chariots till they reached the main shrine., their abode.

The chariots rolled one by one after the scion of the Puri King Gajapti Dibyasingha Deb performed the chera panhara (sweeping of the chariots) on the golden broom.

As the weather was humid, fire officials were on the job and sprayed water on the devotees. The volunteers and others tried to ensure that everything passed off peacefully. During the Rath Yatra held on July 7, one devotee from Bolanagir died due to suffocation following a stampede-like situation.