Bhubaneswar: Pulling of the Rukuna Rath was stopped for a brief period on Thursday when the chariot of Lord Lingaraj veered towards a house and climbed over a drain amid heavy rainfall during its journey from the 11th century Lingaraj temple to Mausima Ghara in Rameswar temple.Thousands of devotees turned up at the Lingaraj temple in Old Town to pull the 35-ft-high Rukuna Rath on the occasion of Ashokastami. Every year, three deities — Lord Chandrasekhar, the presiding deity of Lingaraj temple, along with Rukmini and Basudev, travel to Rameswar temple and return after four days of rest.While rituals for the festival began early with ‘mangala alati’ being done at 5 am, they were delayed by around 30 minutes prior to pulling of the chariot, which began at around 3.30 pm. However, owing to the wind, lightning and heavy rainfall around 5 pm, pulling of the chariot was affected.“People continued to pull the chariot despite rain, as a result of which, it veered towards a corner of the road and climbed over a drain instead of rolling in the middle of the road. Presence of vehicles on both sides of the road also led to the incident,” said a local, Dhirendra Biswal. Nameplates of a few shops on the road and an electric pole were damaged.The chariot stayed put at Badheibanka Chhaka and after around 45 minutes, pulling was resumed by devotees. However, pulling had to be stopped near Tinimundia Chhaka because of sunset. Servitors said the chariot will be pulled towards Rameswar temple at 2 pm on Friday.Earlier in the day, a Bhoi servitor of Lingaraj temple sustained injuries when he fell from the Rukuna Rath while tying charamala (sacred ropes). The servitor, Jatia Bhoi, sustained head injuries and was admitted to the BMC hospital. His condition is stable now.
