Bhubaneswar: The Rukuna yatra of Lord Lingaraj was hit by another hitch on Sunday after a servitor fell off the chariot.

The servitor, identified as Narasingha Khuntia, the rath's dahuka (charioteer), was rushed to Capital Hospital for treatment. The incident took place at Badheibanka Chhak just minutes after devotees started to pull the chariot. The incident further delayed the chariot pulling process.

The chariot festival of Lord Lingaraj came to an abrupt halt on Saturday after the chariot rope snapped three times, forcing the authorities to stop pulling the chariot. That decision had left thousands of devotees, many of whom had come from far-flung places, disappointed.

At the end of the chaos, the chariot finally reached the Mausi Maa Temple here late in the evening. Since then, thousands of devotees have been thronging the place to get a glimpse of the deities.

Preparations for the rath yatra begun on Friday with neta uchhaba (flag ceremony) when the chariot was ceremonially purified by the priests and a flag was fixed atop the chariot. The chariot was washed with holy water from a well known as marichi kunda.

Then, according to tradition, the holy water was auctioned by the temple authorities. The first pot of water was sold for Rs 11,150 to a couple, Jitu and Jali Lenka of Tihidi, while the second pot was auctioned to a couple from Bhubaneswar for Rs 5,600. According to ancient belief, infertile women can conceive after bathing with this water on the same day. The Lingaraj Temple administration had also arranged drinking water facilities for the devotees while fire brigade vehicles and Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation tankers sprinkled water on the road to reduce dust.

The uniqueness of the Rukuna rath is that it does not "take a turn" unlike those of the Puri Jagannath temple.

A fair was held near the Mausi Maa Temple on the occasion to receive the chariot. Foreign tourists and devotees were seen taking part in the festival.#

Keeping with tradition, the first log that would be used to construct the chariots for the rath yatra of the Jagannath temple in Puri was sliced on Ram Navami that fell on Sunday at Government Saw Mill in Cuttack.

Considered auspicious, the occasion marks the beginning of slicing the timber that would be used to construct the Trinity's gigantic chariots.