Bhubaneswar: The third review meeting for the Rath Yatra preparations of Shree Jagannath was held this evening under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary Anu Garg. The meeting reviewed progress since the first meeting on January 13 and the second on February 17, 2026, and focused on finalising preparations for the annual festival in June.
Chief Secretary Anu Garg assessed the implementation of decisions from previous meetings and provided necessary instructions and suggestions to ensure smooth arrangements.
The meeting was attended by Hemant Sharma, Additional Chief Secretary, Home, Information and Public Relations Department; Shree Jagannatha Temple Administration (SJTA) Chief Administrator and Additional Chief Secretary, Revenue and Disaster Management Department, Dr. Arabinda Kumar Padhee; Odisha DGP Yogesh Bahadur Khurania; DG, F&ES, CG, HGs & Director, CD, Dr. Sudhanshu Sarangi; Additional Chief Secretary, Housing and Urban Development Department, Usha Padhee; Principal Secretaries, Commissioners, and Secretaries of the Departments of Electronics & Information Technology, Law, Commerce and Transport, Health and Family Welfare, and the Railway Authority, among others, who participated in discussions on the preparations. Puri District Magistrate Dibya Jyoti Parida and SP Prateek Singh presented updates on the progress of preparations.
The meeting highlighted that temporary medical centers will be set up at eight key locations along both sides of Puri Bada Danda (Grand Road), with health experts on site. Ambulance services will operate efficiently without crisscross movement, with additional support from the district headquarters and T.B. & I.D. Hospital.
Officials reviewed city sanitation, public toilets, drainage systems, road improvements, electrification work, passenger transport, traffic management, parking facilities, crowd control measures, and CCTV and command center management. LED screens will be installed at 70 locations for Rath Yatra updates, and ongoing projects in Puri are to be completed before the festival. Road construction by the National Highways Authority of India is on track, while mobile network enhancements, fire and emergency services, volunteer deployment, and temporary police shelters were also discussed.
Dr. Padhee, Chief Administrator of SJTA, provided updates on Rath Yatra construction and related preparations, confirming that the Rath Yatra process will commence on March 27 (Rama Navami).
