A man takes a wheel of the Puri chariot to Gundicha temple. Telegraph picture

Bhubaneswar, May 6: The Jagannath temple administration in Puri has decided to extend the sale of parts of the chariot used in last year’s rath yatra.

The decision was taken to allow devotees to keep parts of the chariot as mementos.

The temple administration had floated an expression of interest on March 26, asking bidders to offer prices for chariot parts above the upset (base) price.

“The first phase of the sale was held last month. However, most devotees were unaware of this. So, we have decided to extend the sale,” said public relations officer of the temple Laxmidhar Puja Panda.

He said the temple administration would float an expression of interest tomorrow.

While the upset price of each wheel was fixed at Rs 50,000, the base price for decorative parts of the chariot, such as guja and prabha was fixed at Rs 10,000 and Rs 25,000, respectively. The chariot parts include 42 wheels, 40 gujas and three prabhas.

More than 10 bidders participated in the first phase of bidding and a company had even offered a whopping Rs 5 lakh for a wheel of Lord Jagannath’s chariot.

Devotees welcomed the temple administration’s decision. “Everyone wants to keep a part of the chariot. The transparent process being adopted by the temple administration is welcome,” said Sandip Rout, a devotee from Balasore.

Earlier the logs used to build the chariot were used as firewood for cooking dishes for the lords. The dishes are called kothabhoga. The wood used for the three chariots used to be utilised for nearly 8-9 months for cooking.

Every year, the state government provides 13,000 cubic feet of wood worth over Rs 65 lakh for making the three chariots.

Around 1,000 trees of various species are felled for the purpose.

Wood from trees such as asana, dhaura, phasi, mahi and simili is extensively used for making the chariots.