‘Suna Besha’ ritual in Puri: 1 dead, 70 injured in various incidents
Puri: One devotee died, and more than 70 others were injured and hospitalised in various incidents in Puri where lakhs of people gathered to witness the ‘Suna Besha’ (golden attire) ritual of the Rath Yatra festival on Sunday, officials said.
The 52-year-old man, identified as Babaji Behera of Jagatsinghpur district, fell and suffered head injuries after he was disturbed by a monkey near the ‘Singha Dwar’ (Lion’s Gate) of the 12th-century Jagannath temple.
Accompanied by his wife, Behera was witnessing the ‘Suna Besha’ ritual from the premises of Radhaballav Mutt, police said.
The devotee was first taken to the district headquarters hospital in Puria. After his condition deteriorated, he was being shifted to SCB Medical College in Cuttack, but he died on the way, officials said.
The doctors at the Capital Hospital in Bhubaneswar declared Behera brought dead.
About 70 other people were also injured in multiple mishaps in Puri and were admitted to the district headquarters hospital, doctors said. Around 40 of them have bone fractures.
The condition of a woman, who suffered serious injuries, is stated to be serious.
A large number of people were also given first aid treatments at the outpatient department of the hospital and released, a senior doctor said.
The incidents occurred a week after three devotees were killed and 50 others injured in a stampede outside the Gundicha temple in Puri.
Meanwhile, a report from Subarnapur district said that at least six people, including three boys, were injured after they came under the wheels of the chariot when they were pulling it during the ‘Bahuda Yatra’ (return car festival) in Binika town. The condition of one of the injured boys was stated to be critical, and he was shifted to a hospital at Burla, an official said.
Around 15 lakh devotees on Sunday witnessed Lord Jagannath and his siblings Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra’s ‘Suna Besha’ ritual on chariots parked in front of the 12th-century shrine in Puri amid unprecedented security arrangements.
The servitors decorated the idols with golden attire. The ‘Suna Besha’ started at 4.45 pm, much ahead of the scheduled time of 6.30 pm, an official said.
The sibling deities - Lord Balabhara, Devi Subhadra and Lord Jagannath - wear gold jewellery weighing nearly 208 kg on the occasion of Suna Besha, which is continuing since 1460.
Odisha Law minister Prithiviraj Harichandan said that around 15 lakh devotees are witnessing the Lord’s ‘Suna Besha’ smoothly abiding by the norms near the chariots. All arrangements are made keeping in view the safety and security of the devotees, he said.
