Bhubaneswar (SunstarTV Bureau): The world famous Rath Jatra (Cart Festival) is now continuing. In the aftermath of the pandemic, Shree Jagannath’s worldview is being realised from home. In the first phase, a chariot ride from Shreekhetra to Srigundicha temple commenced with a chained procession, without any devotees. To accomplish this duty without any hassle seemed a great challenge where a complete devoted work was needed to complete the procession amid the second wave of the pandemic. The contribution of Dr. Krishan Kumar, the Chief Administrator of Shri Jagannath temple, Puri, is actually commendable.
His performance, excellence and foresight for the Rath Jatra have been praised from all around. He has been asserting his valuable presence from the beginning of the chariot making process till Suna Besha which is on progress today. Dr. Krishan Kumar spontaneously reviewed the procession in pilgrim town.
The ongoing Cart festival commenced without any obstacle during the pandemic situation and it was headed under the guidance of Dr. Krishan Kumar, which was earlier discussed in Chattisa Nijog meeting.
Only the servitors pulled the chariots while photography was prohibited during the chariot service. with the imposition of section 144 around the shrine. There was also a prohibitory order in force and the public were not allowed to watch the festival from the rooftop and balconies. Apart from these, the vaccinations of the officers engaged in the chariot, regular Covid test, were ensured being the key agendas of the preparatory meeting itself.
As per the tradition, the chief administrator of the shrine reached the Govardhan Pitha for the procession and invited Swami Nishchalananda Saraswati. Prior to the rally, Dr Krishan Kumar, the temple’s chief administrator, sought the support of a large number of devotees.
The chariot race was scheduled earlier than the pre-scheduled timing this year, due to proper implementation of all the rules and regulations. All of its credit goes to the temple’s chief administrator. This year, as in previous years, Krishnan Kumar was the main persona behind the success of this year’s Rath Jatra.
At the end of the procession, the Chief Administrator expressed his heartiest reverence to Puri people for they followed the protocols in the pretext of the pandemic and also thanked them for staying at home and watching the Divine Journey of the Lord on Television. As an efficient administrator, he gave the best of his credit to the devotees and the general public. With the blessings of the Lord, the procession was carried out smoothly without any interruptions, and for this he praised the devotion of all the devotees.
Under the leadership of Dr. Kumar the responsibility of demolition of unwanted structures around the temple to transform Puri into a world-class heritage city has already been undertaken. Under the supervision of Kumar, the multi-faceted car parking system and construction of more than 1,200 new shops and houses will be commenced. Around Rs 265 crore have been sanctioned and the amount will be utilized under the Abadha scheme.
In addition, the eight gates of the temple are covered with silver, in near future the temple area’s lightning, beautification and ledger scanning of the temple, have been successfully accomplished by Krishan Kumar who has immersed himself and is fully engaged in complete changeover of the Shree Jagannath temple.
Besides, though Krishan Kumar is serving as a Chief Administrator of Puri temple, he is also known for his keen dedication to Lord Jagannath. Looking at Kalia’s black eyes, it is said that the devotee becomes enchanted, fascinated by the black face. The Lord glorifies Himself. On that day, such a devotional atmosphere was created in Sharadhabali. The chief administrator of the shrine, Dr. Krishan Kumar sang Gitagobinda, “Sri Krishna Gobind Hare Murari Hey Nath Narayan Basudev”.
It is pertinent to mention here that on August 22, 2019, the Chief Administrator of the temple, Dr. Krishan Kumar took charge. The state government appointed Krishan Kumar as the chief administrator of the shrine on August 15, 2019 in place of Pradeepta Mohapatra. On the same day in the evening, he paid a darshan to Lord Jagannath. Since then, Krishnan Kumar has been serving the divine deities of Puri as an administrator and devotee. Last year, Rath Jatra completed amid Covid-19 peacefully. Similarly, this year, as in the previous year, the Rath Jatra, Bahuda, Sunabesh, Nilachal Bije will be performed under the direct supervision of Chief Administrator Krishan Kumar.
