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Wood for Lord Sudarshan's idol traced in Odisha
Bhubaneswar, April 12
After a week-long search
of daru (logs) for Nabakalebara of Lord Jagannath and his siblings, the
Banajaga team has identified in a village on the outskirts of
Bhubaneswarn the holy wood (Neem tree) to carve the idol of Lord
Sudarshan.
Chief of Puri Shri Jagannath Temple Administration
(SJTA) Suresh Chandra Mohapatra on Sunday said the daru was identified
for Lord Sudarshan at the Gadakuntunia village in Balakati block late
on Saturday night.
"The Banajaga Dalapati informed us about
the identification of daru. Iron barricades have been erected around the
Neem tree on the bank of Prachi river to ensure that the tree is not
damaged and the devotees would be able to have a darshan of the daru
from a safe distance," said Mohapatra.
He said the Dalapatis
will inform the temple administration about the darus of other deities,
including Jagannath, within two to three days.
The Banajaga
Yatra is the expedition for search of wood from Neem trees for carving
out new idols of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra and Lord
Sudarshan.
The last Nabakalebara took place in 1996.
Meanwhile,
the Commissionerate Police of Bhubaneswar has made elaborate security
arrangements as thousands of devotees thronged the spot to get a glimpse
of the holy tree to be used in making the idol of Lord Sudarshan.
Police
Commissioner R.P. Sharma said police would set up a temporary control
room at the village where rituals would be conducted to cut the Neem
tree.