July 8: As the chariot of Lord Jagannath couldn’t roll on the street of Sadaipali due to encroachments and road blockades, devotees had to perform pahandi (lifting and swaying of the deities) to take Him to His abode during bahuda yatra today.

The Lord was lifted and taken to the Gundicha temple on June 30. People at Sadaipali, on the outskirts of Balangir, observe rath yatra and bahuda yatra, a day after the festival.

Sources said large-scale encroachment on the streets of Sadaipali had led to narrowing down of the road width, preventing large vehicles to enter the streets. As a result, the Lord’s chariot couldn’t roll on the street during the bahuda yatra today. The same thing happened during rath yatra on June 30.

The devotees had to take the Lord in their arms by performing pahandi and took Him to the house of one Bijaya Mishra, about 1km away, where in a small temple, the Lord is worshipped.

“Earlier, the chariot used to be quite big, yet it could roll on the Sadaipali street. But now, we are forced to build a smaller chariot. But, people have encroached on the village road to such an extent that even the smaller chariot can’t move on the stretch. So, we have to perform pahandi during rath yatra and again take him back during bahuda,” said Mishra, an organiser of the festival.

Moreover, villagers have blocked the road at several places by amassing building materials in the middle of the stretch.

“This is to enable the villagers to enjoy the festival on the scheduled day in Balangir city and observe their own bahuda and rath at the village, a day later,” said Ramesh Pradhan, a nearby villager.

Bhakta Mishra of Sadaipali had started the rath yatra at the village about 50 years ago.