Devotees hitching a ride on buses to Puri have to loosen their purse strings as private and government transport operators have hiked the fares for rath yatra. However, the number of buses plying to the holy town has been increased for occasions such as rath yatra (July 10), bahuda yatra (July 18) and suna besha (July 19). Over 12 lakh people are expected to congregate in Puri to take part in the car festival.

The Dream Team Sahara (DTS), which operates government buses plying in Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, Khurda and Puri towns, have increased the number of buses to the pilgrim hub on the three days from five to 24.

The fare has been raised by Rs 10 from the current rate of Rs 35 from Bhubaneswar due to several road diversions.

“We plan to operate buses round the clock for the tourists’ convenience,” said chief executive officer of the DTS Sudhanshu Jena. For the return journey, one to cough up Rs 60 to Rs 70, as the buses have to ply on diverted routes, covering around 100km.

The Odisha State Road Transport Corporation will run 60 buses to Puri from various parts of the state. Last year, it plied 27 buses for rath yatra.

However, it does not normally operate any bus to the holy town except one that goes from Cuttack to Satapara via Puri.

An official said the government had decided to increase the bus fares by Rs 10 from Bhubaneswar and Cuttack to Puri. Now, commuters have to pay Rs 45 and a little more for the return journey.

“People can book tickets on the corporation website and at various ticket counters across the state,” said an official.

A private bus operator said they had sought special permits for at least 200 buses to ply to Puri from various parts of the state and even from outside the state for the festival.

He said the diverted routes to Puri from Bhubaneswar made up for nearly 70km while the return journey would cross 105km.

“We charge 55 paise per kilometre, and accordingly, the total fare will be calculated,” said Debendra Sahu, secretary of the All Odisha Private Bus Operators’ Association.

Those interested to hire taxis from Bhubaneswar to Puri have to pay Rs 1,500 to Rs 1,600 for a non-AC car and around Rs 2,000 for an AC car during rath yatra. On other days, it is Rs 1,000 (non-AC) to Rs 1,200 (AC).

On the occasion, the East Coast Railway will run 82 special trains in addition to 25 trains regularly plying to Puri. The trains will run on the days of rath yatra, sandhya darshan, bahuda yatra and suna besha. Besides, six trains would be rescheduled, five diverted and six others extended to Puri.

The information regarding train services will be available at various railway stations and special ticket counters have been set up at the stations for the rath yatra season.

Happy hoteliers

Come rath yatra and the holy town starts overflowing with devotees from different parts of the world, who jostle with each other to catch a glimpse of the divine Trinity.

Cashing in on this opportunity are the different hotels and lodges that are welcoming the guests with open arms.

President of the Hotel Owners’ Association of Puri Ramkrushna Das Mohapatra said bookings started at least six months prior to the festival. It has been decided that the daily tariff would not be increased for the occasion and tourists would be given a memorable welcome by hotel staff.

“The surge of crowd is mainly for two-three days around rath yatra. In keeping with the tenet of atithi devo bhava, we have asked the hotels to give the tourists a grand welcome so that they would like to visit Puri during the festival again and take home some fond memories,” said Mohapatra.

The association governs 432 hotels in the holy town, which boasts of around 1,000 holiday homes, 200 guesthouses and lodges apart from numerous dharmashalas and ashrams.

There are different types of hotels in Puri on the basis of tariff ranging from Rs 700 to 7,000 per day. “It is believed that newlyweds should touch the chariot. I got married last month and decided to come here with my husband for rath yatra. We found an accommodation easily,” said Amrita Bagchi, a tourist.

While a large number of devotees from cities such as Delhi, Calcutta, and Mumbai always make their presence felt, believers from far-flung places such as Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat also turn up.

Britishers, mostly associated with the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (Iskcon), constitute a major chunk of the foreign tourists. Devotees from the US, Malaysia, Germany and Singapore also pour into the city during this time of the year.

The local India-Japan Friendship Centre ensures that the Japanese from different walks of life, too, attend the car festival.

Putting rest to apprehensions of a number of devotees not turning up at Jagannath Puri - one of the four dhams (abodes) - because of the Uttarakhand floods ruining their Badrikanath dham tour, tourism officer Bijaya Kumar Jena said around 10 to 12 lakh people were expected to attend the festival.

“Last year, the footfall was eight lakh. This year we are expecting three to four lakh more people. You can spot a lot of foreigners around.

“After all, this is the only time of the year when everyone, irrespective of their religion, caste and creed, can see the deities,” said Jena.