The process of dismantling the three huge chariots of Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra, and Lord Jagannath began on Thursday. The temple administration recently has announced the reopening of the Shree Jagannath temple for devotees.
In light of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic situation, the chariots had to be disassembled to make space for the installation of barricades on the Grand Road. This will regulate devotee movement and maintain social distancing.
“The Bhoi servitors, as per tradition, have started dismantling the chariots. At first, Devi Subhadra’s chariot, ‘Darpadalana’, is being dismantled following which Lord Jagannath’s ‘Nandighosa’ and Lord Balabhadra’s ‘Taladhwaja’ will be disassembled, respectively,” said a Bhoi servitor.
“After disassembling the chariots completely, the Bhoi servitors will submit the nails used in the construction of the chariots at the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration’s (SJTA) office. Though 10-15 days are required to fully dismantle the chariots, we will try to complete the work at the earliest this year,” added the Bhoi servitor.
After a meeting with the Chhatisa Nijog, SJTA Chief Administrator Krishan Kumar informed about the reopening of the 12th-century temple for devotees on August 16.
The temple administrators have established some basic guidelines for devotees to the shrine. People who seek to pay devotion to the Holy Trinity will have to produce a final vaccination certificate or RT-PCR negative report. The report must not be older than 96 hours.
Last year the Holy chariots were dismantled and again reassembled in Jagannath Ballava Matha. The Jagannath Ballava Matha is around 500m away from the main Jagannath temple. That was for the first time in history that the Holy Chariots were reassembled. The decision was taken for the devotees who wished to see the chariots physically but were unable because of the COVID restrictions.
