Three people died and over 50 were injured in a stampede during Rath Yatra near Puri’s Gundicha Temple. Odisha CM Mohan Majhi removed top officials, ordered an inquiry, and called the negligence leading to the tragedy “unpardonable.”
The Secretary of 'Rath Yatra' Committee, Gautam Mandal, informed, "The Rath Mela is being organised even before Babur and other Mughals set foot on this soil. It is 629 years old. This ancient chariot fair is being stopped for a special vote bank"
Recalling the anger that arose from the decision of the Bihar government, Professor Sharda Sinha mentions, "It is impossible to imagine what people would have done if they had met Lalu Yadav at that time. People were saying that this is a 'parachhut' (despicable) government. It has to pay the price."
The Advani-led Rath Yatra had such a massive appeal that devotees used to shower flower petals in every nook and cranny the Yatra traversed through. In fact, people’s devotions were so attached that some even used to apply soil from the place where the chariot passed by onto their foreheads as a mark of devotion.
Rathyatra celebrations in these two distant states are another example of how the states of India, despite diverse linguistic and cultural norms, are bound together by strings of Hindu tradition and spirituality.
The Jagannath Mandir Trust invited the Prime Minister Narendra Modi for this year's Jagannath Rath Yatra in Ahmedabad. Narendra Modi sent the Prasad as per his tradition.