Jagannath Puri Rath Yatra 2023: Indian Railways will operate 857 special trains towards Puri and back during the Jagannath Rath Yatra this year for approximately 20 lakh pilgrims, who are expected to come, said Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Monday. He further said that all arrangements have been made at the Puri station for the Pilgrims coming here for the Rath yatra.
This year, the Puri Rath Yatra will take place on June 20 and culminate on June 28, 2023.
“All arrangements have been made at the Puri station for the Pilgrims coming here for the Rath yatra. 857 special trains have been arranged for approx 20 lakhs pilgrims (expected to come for the yatra),” said Vaishnaw.
Rath Yatra Special trains
East Coast Railway in a release on June 18, said that the Rath Yatra Special trains will be operated for the passengers visiting Puri during the nine-day festival. The special trains will be operated till June 30.
The special trains will be operated from different towns of Odisha as well as neighbouring states like Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal. According to East Coast Railway, the trains will be operating from Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Berhampur, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Keonjhar, Paradip, Gunupur, Sambalpur, Jagdalpur, Rourkela and Angul in Odisha and Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh to Puri.
The Visakhapatnam-Puri special train number 08901, will commence its journey from Visakhapatnam at 2:30 PM on June 19 and 27. It is scheduled to arrive in Puri the following day at 1:15 AM. On the return journey, the Puri-Visakhapatnam train, number 08902, will depart from Puri at 10:55 PM on June 20 and 28, reaching Visakhapatnam at 7:30 AM the next day.
About Rath Yatra
The Jagannath Puri Yatra or the famous chariot festival of India is of immense significance to Hindus and is celebrated with great pomp and splendour in the state of Odisha. The festival is dedicated to Lord Jagannath who is said to be a form of Lord Krishna along with his siblings Balabhadra and Subhadra. This Yatra is the biggest yatra in not only in India but in the world. Millions of devotees from around the world gather around Odisha at this time to be a part of the grand celebration.
The Yatra involves a procession of Lord Jagannath along with his siblings in specially crafted chariots, which are known as raths. These chariots are constructed for the yatra every year and thousands of devotees gather to pull it using ropes. The Rath Yatra is basically a journey from the Jagannath temple to the Gundicha temple in Puri, Odisha. The temples are located 3 kilometres away from each other.
