Bhubaneswar, July 25: Barring stray controversies, it has more or less been a smooth going so far for the century's first Nabakalebar-rath yatra in Puri.

However, the administration cannot afford to let its guard down so far bahuda yatra or the return journey of Puri Jagannath temple deities after their sojourn at Sri Gundicha, the shrine dedicated to their aunt, is concerned.

The biggest challenge, by far, for the administration would be to ensure an incident-free bahuda with foolproof security and crowd management. The government learnt its lessons from the two deaths of the administration on the first day of rath yatra Though incidents such as suspension of a daitapati and showcause notice to Lord Jagannath's chief servitor Jagannath Swain Mohapatra have the potential of creating bad blood between them and the administration, the government is said to be following a carrot and stick policy to keep them at bay. "The aim is to make them fall in line without generating ill will," said an official, admitting that their co-operation was crucial to the success of the yatra.

Though the 164 platoons of police deployed in Puri since July 18 have turned it almost into a fortress, senior officials are far from being complacent. Given the importance of the temple and the occasion, the multi-layered security would remain in place in the town till the end of the yatra with men in khaki also keeping a vigil on the sea beach that is a hit with tourists. Around 200 CCTV cameras installed at strategic points would continue to beam pictures of the crowd to the central police control room in the town.

An official said the administration was fully geared up to meet the challenge of crowd control on the bahuda day with Malatipur bus stand on Puri outskirts, the focal point for regulating traffic, flowing into the town. Even newcomers would find information being dished out by the 15 information centres set up by the administration quite handy. Besides, 29 dedicated parking lots have been set up to ensure that vehicles do not become an impediment to the movement of people. "All aspects have been taken care of, but we are still keeping our fingers crossed," quipped an official.