Maa Hingula Jatra begins

TALCHER: The nine-day Maa Hingula Jatra bagan here at Gopalprasad with lakhs of devotees thronging the temple to offer puja on Thursday. From dawn devotees started flocking to Kusumpal village near Hingula temple in large numbers where The Goddess appeared in the form of fire. All the rituals were performed as per tradition.Massive police arrangements were made for the puja under the supervision of Additional Superintendent of Police Jyoti Ranjan Mahapatra and Sub-divisional Police Officer Bana Behari Sahu.According to Additional PRO Santosh Kumar Sethi, there will be cultural extravaganza  during the nine days in which troupes from the State and outside will take part. Various stalls, including that of MCL, were also opened on the occasion.Legend has it that Maa Hingula, who is the presiding deity in the kitchen of Jagannath temple in Puri, leaves the temple on this day to give Her devotees a darshan like Lord Jagannath during the annual sojourn.