Idol of Lord Balabhadra falls on servitors during Rath Yatra ritual in Puri, nine injured

At least nine servitors of the Puri Jagannath temple were injured on Tuesday when the idol of Lord Balabhadra fell on them while it was being taken out from the chariot to a temple as part of the Rath Yatra festival, an official said.

Of the nine, five were admitted to a hospital while four others suffered minor injuries, Puri Collector Siddharth Shankar Swain said. The mishap happened shortly after 9 pm when the heavy wooden idol was being brought down from Lord Balabhadra's chariot to be taken to the Gundicha temple. This is known as 'Pahandi' ritual. It appears that those who were carrying the idol 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.