Odisha chief secretary briefs CM Majhi on crowd management ahead of festivals

Odisha (Bhubaneswar) [India], June 16 : Odisha Chief Secretary Pradeep Jena highlighted concerns over crowd management in Puri during a meeting on Sunday with newly elected Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and Law Minister Prithviraj Harichandan.
The discussion centred on preparations for the 'Raja Parba' festival and for the upcoming festivals at the Shri Jagannath Temple, including the 'Snana Yatra' on June 22 and the car festival scheduled for July 7.
"Today I and the DG, Director of Intelligence briefed the CM and Law Minister on various issues associated with Shri Jagannath Temple as well as the organisation of the car festival," Jena said.
Addressing the media, Chief Secretary Pradeep Jena emphasized the challenges posed by the influx of visitors to Puri during the ongoing 'Raja Parba' festival, which celebrates the onset of monsoons and earth's womanhood.
"As all of you know, in the last 3 days, we have seen huge crowds turning out in Puri due to the Raja festival and holiday. So because of the crowd, it was a bit uncomfortable situation there," Jena said.
"Yesterday, we estimated that 3.5-4 lakh crowd have gone to Puri... We briefed the CM about the situation and what possible actions the local administration, temple administration and state police have to take," Jena added
The briefing also covered security arrangements and crowd control strategies essential for managing the expected surge in pilgrims during the upcoming 'Snana Yatra' and the grand car festival of Lord Jagannath.
'Raja Parba' commenced across Odisha on Friday.
The festival, which started as a tribal practice is based on the belief that Mother Earth menstruates for those three days and she is given a ceremonial bath on the fourth day.
It is believed that the mother Goddess Earth or the divine wife of Lord Vishnu undergoes menstruation during the first three days. The fourth day is called as Vasumati Gadhua or the ceremonial bath of Bhudevi. The term Raja has come from Rajaswala (meaning a menstruating woman) and during the medieval period, the festival became more popular as an agricultural holiday remarking the worship of Bhudevi, who is the wife of lord Jagannath. A silver idol of Bhudevi is still found in Puri Temple aside from Lord Jagannatha.
As part of the celebrations, girls wear new dresses, enjoy the 'Doli Jhula' and savour traditional delicacies with some notable dishes being 'Podo Pitha', 'Manda Pitha' and 'Arisha Pitha'.
As long as the festival goes on, no agricultural activity like ploughing or sowing takes place for it is believed that Mother Earth goes through rejuvenation during these three days.
The first, second and third days of 'Raja Parba' are called 'Pahili Rajo', 'Mithuna Sankranti', and Bhu Daaha' or 'Basi Raja', respectively.
The fourth day which marks the ceremonial bath is called 'Vasumati Snana.' Conducted around mid-June every year, men also participate in this festival with full fervour.
Meanwhile, President Droupadi Murmu attended Odisha's agricultural festival 'Raja Parb' celebration at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Friday and witnessed cultural performances including 'Mayurbhanj Chhau', 'Sambalpuri' and 'Karma' dances.
Notably, President Murmu is from Odisha's tribal community and it is the first occasion when the R agriculture-based festival of Odisha, was celebrated at Rashtrapati Bhavan. This celebration provided a unique glimpse of Odia culture and lifestyle to the participants.