Bhubaneswar: With lakhs of devotees visiting Puri to witness the ‘Suna Besha’ (golden attire) of Lord Jagannath on the chariot this Sunday, Odisha Police said they are using drones and AI cameras to control the crowd and cautioned people to plan accordingly and abide by the traffic advisory issued.
ADG (Traffic) Dayal Gangwar stated that the vehicle inflow from Bhubaneswar towards Puri is continuously increasing. Therefore, dynamic diversions are being implemented for vehicles to ensure minimum waiting time at Batgaon/Maltipatpur.
“The current waiting time at Batgaon is around 20–30 minutes,” he said, appealing to devotees to follow traffic advisories and cooperate with police personnel on duty.
Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan said, “We are expecting a turnout of about 15 lakh people on the occasion of Suna Besha. Last night alone, about 2 lakh devotees had darshan of the deities on the chariots. The administration is alert, aware of the situation, and taking necessary measures to control the crowd.”
According to the SJTA schedule, devotees can witness the Suna Besha rituals of the deities from 6:30 pm to 11:00 pm on Sunday.
In a ‘Suna Besha Yatra Alert,’ the police said all parking spaces in the pilgrim town have been occupied due to a large number of devotees arriving in Puri throughout Saturday night to have darshan of Lord Jagannath.
“As parking spaces in the city are almost fully occupied, vehicles are being directed towards Talabania and Sterling based on parking availability. Waiting times at Batagaon/Malatipatpur may be longer,” the police said.
In view of the huge influx of devotees to Puri, Odisha DGP Y B Khurania himself is monitoring crowd management from the Integrated Crowd Control Centre (ICCC) and urged people to follow the advisory.
“Devotees are requested to follow advisories and maintain discipline and order during the darshan period. Like during Rath Yatra and Bahuda, police are using drones and AI-powered cameras to control crowds and regulate traffic. Adequate parking lots have been created in and around Puri,” Khurania said.
Officials said there was a “non-stop flow of devotees to Puri on Saturday night as the deities remained on the chariots and were open for darshan. There was no ‘Pahuda’ (resting time) for the deities on Saturday night, giving devotees the opportunity to see them on the chariots. Therefore, there was a huge rush,” an official of the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) said.
Servitors performed all the morning rituals on Sunday, while the sibling deities—Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra, and Lord Jagannath—were seated on their respective chariots.
The three chariots—’Taladwaj,’ ‘Darpadalan,’ and ‘Nandighosh’—are parked in front of the ‘Singha Dwar’ (Lion’s Gate) of the 12th-century shrine after the completion of the deities’ nine-day annual sojourn.
The ‘Bahuda’ Yatra passed off smoothly on Saturday, amid unprecedented security and active cooperation from servitors, and the administration was on alert to control the crowd for the ‘Suna Besha’ rituals, the SJTA official added.
The police have enhanced security, crowd management, and traffic control measures for the ‘Suna Besha’ rituals following the death of three devotees in a stampede near the Shree Gundicha Temple on June 29, a senior police officer said.
SJTA chief administrator Dr. Arabinda Kumar Padhee has appealed to all stakeholders to actively cooperate for the smooth conduct of Lord Jagannath’s ‘Suna Besha’ rituals.
