Devotees surround a chariot at Chandni Chowk in Cuttack on Thursday. Picture by Badrika Nath Das

Cuttack, July 18: Chandan Sahu, a 30-year-old businessman from Bhubaneswar, had a unique spiritual experience today. For the first time in his life, he pulled the chariot of Lord Jagannath on the occasion of bahuda yatra.

“I had seen the rituals on television but this was the first time that I pulled the chariot along with other devotees. Truly, it was one of the best moments of my life to have observed the rituals in Cuttack,” said Sahu.

Over 50,000 devotees turned up to watch the proceedings of bahuda yatra at the Haripur-Dolmundai Jagannath temple here where the annual festival is being celebrated since 1962.

“We like to participate in the rath yatra celebrations at Dolmundai as a lot of religious activities, cultural programmes are organised here every year,” said Prakash Mohanty, a devotee.

Elaborate arrangements have been made for suna besha tomorrow. The deities will wear gold ornaments weighing around 12kg on the occasion.

“Suna besha attracts a large number of devotees too, just like rath yatra and bahuda yatra. People from Cuttack and nearby areas gather at the temple to watch the rituals in which the deities are dressed in gold ornaments,” said Ranjan Mishra, a member of the Dolmundai Jagannath temple trust.

Bahuda yatra was also observed with much fanfare by the Chandni Chowk Jagannath Temple Management Committee today. All kinds of rituals were performed before the idols were taken out in a ceremonial procession.

“We are thankful to god that despite the demolition of the Gundicha temple following a Supreme Court order, rath yatra was observed with so much enthusiasm,” said Chandni Chowk Jagannath Temple Management Committee secretary Bhikari Das.

Das said the apex court had allowed the ritual to be conducted on the premises of the Gundicha temple, which was demolished by the revenue administration in May.

Adequate measures were taken by the district administration, the Cuttack Municipal Corporation and the city police for smooth conduct of the festival.

Around 10 platoons of police were deployed while elaborate traffic arrangements were made to facilitate the pulling of the chariots.