On Tuesday, during the Rath Yatra festival, at least nine servitors of the Puri Jagannath temple sustained injuries when the idol of Lord Balabhadra accidentally fell on them as it was being moved from the chariot to a temple, according to an official.
Puri Collector Siddharth Shankar Swain reported that out of the nine individuals involved, five were hospitalised, while the remaining four suffered minor injuries.
The incident occurred just after 9 pm when the weighty wooden idol was being lowered from Lord Balabhadra's chariot to be transported to the Gundicha temple.
This is known as the 'Pahandi' ritual. Those who were carrying the idol likely lost control of it.
An injured servitor said that the mishap happened due to some problem with the rope-like material tied to the idol.
Two of those who were hospitalised were later released, and they joined the rituals.
Mohan Charan Majhi, the Chief Minister, showed concern about the incident and hoped for a quick recovery of the injured servitors.
He directed Prithiviraj Harichandan, the Law Minister, to travel to Puri immediately and take necessary actions.
The state government's law department oversees the Puri Jagannath temple.
Pravati Parida, the Deputy Chief Minister, also travelled to Puri and, together with Harichandan, visited the hospital to speak with the injured servitors.
“With the blessings of Lord Jagannath, all injured persons are doing fine, and the rituals are also going on,” Harichandan told reporters.
“We will report to the chief minister for further action,” Parida said.
The ritual of the sibling deities - Lord Jagannath, Devi Subhadra and Lord Balabhadra - resumed soon after the mishap. All the idols were taken inside the Gundicha temple, considered their birthplace.
They will remain in the Gundicha Temple until ‘Bahuda Jatra', or the return car festival, on July 15, when the deities will return to the Jagannath temple.
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