Kendrapara, May 27: Chariot construction for the annual car festival of Lord Balabhadra of the 400-year-old Baladevjew temple here is yet to begin with the state forest department shying away from providing logs for the purpose.

Authorities of the temple have shot off several letters requesting the department to supply sal logs to build the chariot, but in vain.

The 64-foot-high chariot of Lord Baldevjew is the biggest chariots of the state, surpassing the height of three chariots of the Puri Trinity.

Every year, the forest department used to supply the required timber ahead of time. "But this time, it has done precious little. The chariot work is getting delayed. Unless the department supplies timber in a week, the carpenters assigned with the task of building the chariot would have a tough time to build it before the car festival," said the temple's executive officer Balabhadra Patri.

"We are in need of 953 cubic foot of sal wood to construct Lord Balabhadra's chariot. The temple's managing committee members have been running from pillar to post to get the timbers for the past two months. Though the construction of the Puri chariots started on May 9, here it is yet to begin.

Around 22 temple carpenters have been waiting for the arrival of timbers since two weeks to start the work. "We engage only competent carpenters to build the chariot. As many as 14 wheels of the chariot will be constructed with new timber. We will use some old timber to construct the chariot's body due to non-availability of sufficient timbers," said Patri.

This year, rath yatra will be observed on July 6, and the carpenters need about 45 days to build the chariot.

The Baladevjew temple is the owner of about 5,000 acres of agricultural and other lands in the district and other parts of the state. A decade ago, it was decided to raise sal and other timbers on some lands to get sufficient material for building the chariot each year. But, the plan is stuck in red tape.