Lakhs of devotees pour in for Rath Yatra

PURI: Lakhs of devotees poured in here on Sunday with religious fervour and enthusiasm to take part in the grand spectacle of the annual Rath Yatra in keeping with centuries-old tradition of pulling majestic chariots of Lord Jagannath, his brother and sister.People from across the country and abroad descended on the pilgrim town to have a glimpse of the presiding deities of the Sri Jagannath temple.Since early morning, thousands of devotees kept pouring in to watch the ceremony and pull the three colourful chariots on ‘Bada Danda’, where security personnel were deployed in strength to prevent any untoward incident.As the presiding deities, Lord Jagannath, his elder brother Balabhadra and their sister Subhadra set out from the sanctum sanctorum of the temple for their annual nine-day sojourn to Gundicha temple, a number of special rituals like Mangla Arati and Mailam were performed.However, during the event, a devotee died.“A man, identified as Sudhakar Swain, an elderly person from Jagatsinghpur district, died of heart attack,” Director-General of Police Manmohan Praharaj said. Some people claimed the death was due to a stampede-like situation, but doctors and the police ruled out that possibility.