One dead, 400 injured

Puri: Lord Jagannath, sister Subhadra and brother Balram took part in the Rath Yatra early in the morning at the historic 12th century Jagannath temple in Puri, Odisha. This year's Rath Yatra is special because it will be taken out for two days for 53 years after 1971. However, a major accident happened in the Rath Yatra. While pulling the chariot of Lord Balram, the train suddenly derailed, in which one devotee died, while 400 devotees were injured. However, most suffered minor injuries.

On Sunday, Lord Jagannath along with brother Balram and sister Subhadra came out on a chariot to give darshan to the devotees. Puri's King Gajapati Maharaja Divyasingh Dev performed 'Pahind Vidhi' and Puri's Shankaracharya Swami Nischalananda Saraswati had darshan of Lord Jagannath, brother Balram and sister Subhadra on three chariots. President Draupadi Murmu circumambulated the three chariots. President Draupadi Murmu, Odisha's new Chief Minister Mohan Charan Maji and Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan symbolically started the Rath Yatra by pulling the rope of the chariot. According to sources, after the process of pulling Lord Jagannath's Nandighosha chariot started, there was a sudden stampede among the devotees, in which one devotee died of suffocation, while more than 400 devotees were injured.

The atmosphere of this journey from the personal temple of Lord Jagannath to the Gundicha temple in Puri became devotional with the sound of conches, bells and chants of 'Jai Jagannath'. Thousands of potential devotees joined to pull the huge 45 feet high chariot.