Puri Grandroad filled with street vendors, vehicles: Wood logs for Raths wait for unload

Puri, Mar 23: Wood logs imported from Nayagarh forest Range for crafting Raths for Puri Rath Yatra are yet to be unloaded from a truck due to the congestion of the Grand Road(Badadanda). The log-laden truck has been parked near the Ratha Khala(the space earmarked for Rath craft) from the wee hour s those are yet to be unloaded so far, due to lack of space. Sources said as many as 10 wood logs containing 5 pieces of 12-feet long Asan and 13 pieces of 20-feet  long Dhauranj logs were brought from the Nayagarh forest to the Grand Road, as a second lot of wood for the Rath craft. The truck carrying the logs could not unload them at the Ratha Khala since there were many petty vendors who were trading their commodities. At the same time, the barricades erected by the Sri Jagannath Temple Administration(SJTA) for facilitating common darshan were stood as barriers for unloading the huge size wood logs. Following this, the In-Charge of Rath craft Sudarshan Mekap and the Chief Craftsman of the Raths, Ravi Bhoi took the problem to the notice of the Srimandir Police and Puri district administration. Acting on it, District Collector, Samarth Verma said, the street vendors and parked vehicles will be managed to vacate from the Ratha Khala by the evening so that the wood logs can be placed at the specified place. Worth mentioning, another 704 pieces of wood logs including Fasi, Dhauranj, and Asan are essential for crafting the three raths which will be fetched to the Badadanda before the Akshaya  Tritiya. It’s why, the Badadanda should be kept ready, vacating traffic and street vendors, prettily before the deadline.