Berhampur: Chariots were rolled at Dharakote and Surangi in Ganjam district a day after the Puri car festival, which was held on Saturday. This is done every year as part of age-long tradition.

The servitors conducted the pahandi procession and performed rituals of the deities on rath yatra day on Saturday. According to local tradition, the three deities stay back in 'Bada Danda' (Grand Road) on the night till the chariots are pulled.

Though the exact reason behind the delay in pulling the chariot in Surangi is not recorded anywhere, Anantram Kar a Jagannath cult research scholar, said perhaps the king was forced to postpone rath yatra celebrations by a day as everyone used to participate in the more popular festivities at neighbouring Jarada in Chikiti.

"During the initial period, the chariots were pulled by the elephants as there were not enough devotees left at Surangi to pull it. But the practice was abandoned and the pulling of the chariot was delayed by one day to ensure greater participation," said Kar.

The delayed rath yatra in Dharakote was observed to facilitate the royal family members participate in the Puri event and come back to their kingdom in a day, sources in the erstwhile royalty said.

However, Sulakhyana Gitanjali Devi, who became Raja Saheba of Dharakote during 2010 after the death of her father, Kishore Chandra Singh Deo would perform the 'chhera pahanra' (symbolic sweeping the chariot's floor) for the ninth time this year on July 23. The rath yatra was celebrated with gaiety at Jarada. Thousands devotees from across Ganjam and neighbouring Andhra Pradesh participated in the festival.

Lord Jagannath is worshipped in the neighbouring state as Lord Parthasarathi.