CM Mamata Banerjee reviews Rath Yatra readiness in Digha; urges caution amid huge crowd influx

DIGHA: Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday oversaw preparedness for Friday’s Rath Yatra in Digha and extensively reviewed crowd-management measures, asking police to stay alert to avert any stampede-like situation.

More than 2.5 lakh people are expected to participate in the seaside town’s first chariot festival after the inauguration of the Jagannath temple.Banerjee, who reached Digha on Wednesday to keep tabs on arrangements, said the Yatra would begin at 2.30pm and proceed along a barricaded route. A 750-metre stretch from Jagannath Dham to Masir Bari at the old Jagannath temple has been barricaded. Around 3,000 policemen will be deployed along the route.

“People will not be allowed on the road to pull the chariots. All devotees will stay behind barricades to avoid any risk of stampede,” the CM said, adding that the chariots’ ropes would be extended towards the barricades for people to touch them.The announcement came after Banerjee held an administrative meeting that was attended by ministers Aroop Biswas, Chandrima Bhattacharya and Sujit Bose and senior district and police officials.

“People can visit the temple. There is no issue if they arrive early, but they must leave after the visit. It is difficult to accommodate a large number of people at once on the temple premises. This is the first time we are organising this festival. We request that both Yatra days (Friday and July 5) be peaceful. All preparations have been made. The Yatra will conclude by 4 pm,” the CM said.Radharaman Das, a trustee of Digha Jagannath Dham and vice-president of ISKCON Kolkata, said, “The CM is personally monitored the situation to ensure there are no problems due to the crowd surge.”On Thursday, Digha was bursting at the seams as thousands of people poured in and every hotel room in and around the seaside town was booked. Bipradash Chakraborty, joint secretary of Digha Sankarpur Hotelier’s Association said hotel occupancy was over 70% on Thursday and was expected to be over 90% on Friday when more devotees reach the town to witness the festival.” Late on Thursday, at least 200 buses packed with devotees left Kolkata for Digha.“I was visiting my home in Gujarat for a week and on learning about the chariot festival here, I decided to visit the town. I have been to Puri earlier, but being part of Digha’s first Ratha Yatra would be a memorable experience,” said Anwar Shah, who lives in California.Swati Dey from Kasba, who reached Digha on Thursday said, “We could not come here when the temple was opened in April. So, we decided to visit the temple during Ratha Yatra. We booked the hotel last month.”