Bhubaneswar, March 14: The administration is gearing up for Rukuna rath yatra, the car festival of Lord Lingaraj, the presiding deity of the city, which is held on Ashokashtami.

Though there are 12 days to go before the rath yatra, the authorities have begun preparations for the event that draws a huge crowd.

They have issued the timetable for the yatra, including the bahuda yatra or the return journey of the Lord. On the day of the festival, the temple will open at 4am for early conduct of the rituals. The pulling of the chariot will begin at 4pm.

However, priests and servitors, who perform various services of the Lord, are yet to reach a consensus on the timing. Lack of co-ordination and dispute between the priests and the servitors delays the pulling of the chariot every year. The temple administration, however, has stated that it would discuss with the priests and the servitors to ensure that the timetable is adhered to.

Police, along with the district and temple administrations, today organised a preparatory meeting at the police headquarters here. Besides, officials from all other departments concerned were also present at the meeting.

Deputy police commissioner Satyabrata Bhoi said around 15 platoons of police would be deployed at various places for both the car festival and the return car festival. "Along with crowd management and traffic arrangement, providing security to the devotees and maintaining law and order would be our prime concern," said Bhoi.

Khurda collector Niranjan Sahu instructed officials of the public health engineering organisation, public works department, fire services, Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation, general electrical department, Central Electricity Utility Services, telephone exchange and the Archaeological Survey of India to carry out the work allotted to them following schedule.

The public health engineering organisation would provide water tankers and water pouches for various purposes, including cleaning of the road, on which the chariot would roll. The corporation would be in charge of lighting during the festival.

The civic body will also cover the open drains and repair the roads on which the chariot will roll. It will also set up temporary toilets for the devotees. Capital Hospital and the BMC hospital officials have been asked to be ready to take care of any injuries during the yatra.

"With all the departments working in tandem, the festival will be conducted smoothly," said the district collector.