67 Platoons Of PoliceTo Be Deployed During ‘Snana Purnima’ Rituals Of Lord Jagannath In Puri

30 May, Puri

Sixty seven platoons of police personnel besides four hundred officers of various ranks would be deployed to ensure safety of the pilgrims and smooth conduct of the Snan Purnima ritual of lord Jagannath and his siblings scheduled to be held on June 2.

Since it is the last public appearance of the present deities the administration is expecting a huge crowd of devotees to witness the grand ritual.
While the deployment of police has been increased manifold from the last year arrangements one way traffic on the NH no 203 from Bhubaneswar onwards to Puri would be enforced.

Two senior police officers would be placed in charge of the inner temple and at Simhadwar to marshal police personnel to regulate the pilgrim movement.
As per the temple schedule the deities would be escorted to the Snan Mandop, a huge altar in the temple complex facing the Badadanda and would be accorded 108 pitchers of aromatic water bath by the Pujapanda servitors.

The holy water would be drawn from a special well inside the temple complex.

After observance a complex set of nitees the deities would dressed in special attires looking like lord Ganesha popularly called Haati Vesha.
The Vesha would be visible to the devotees from the out side the temple from afternoon and continue till late in the evening.
During Sahan Mella (free public darshan) the devotees would be allowed to go to bath altar to offer prayers.
No devotee would be allowed to touch the deities.

Late in the evening the Vesha would end. There after the deities would be taken in Pahandi procession to the Anasar Ghar (sick room) where the deities would recline to bed supposedly suffering from fever for a period of about 45 days.

During these period the temple physician would treat the sick deities with herbal medicine and keeps them on dry and fruit diet.
On June 25 midnight the servitors would put the Brahma in new idols and the new ones would replace the old.
The old idols would be buried in the koili Baikuntha of the temple.

The new idols would appear for public darshan two days prior to the annual Rath Yatra scheduled for July 18.
However the administration had resolved not to allow the devotees for darshan of the Nabayouban vesha of the new deities to avoid stampede.