Chaitra Jatra Festivities Start At Maa Tara Tarini Shrine; Record Footfall Expected

Berhampur: Today is the first Tuesday of Chaitra month and the Maa Tara Tarini Shirine on the Ratnagiri hills in Ganjam district is decked up to celebrate the most revered annual Chaitra Jatra.

The Chaitra Jatra of Maa Tara Tarini, the presiding deity of Ganjam starts on the first Tuesday of Chitra month. Serpentine queues were seen from the morning itself atop the shrine with thousands of devotees thronging the hilltop to offer prayers. It is believed that having darshan of Maa Tara Tarini during the Chaitra Jatra is most auspicious. On the 4th Tuesday of the month, special worship of the Goddess takes place.

The district administration has made elaborate arrangements for the festival in view of the huge crowd expected this year.

The temple authorities have put up huge tents and sheds for the devotes and drinking water facilities have been made at all places. For, crowd management, barricades have been put up. Also, additional city buses have also been arranged to transport the devotees from various places including Berhampur. For law and order maintenance, 2 additional SPs, 3 DSPs, 14 inspectors and 10 platoons of police force have been deployed at the shrine. The new temple of Maa Tara Tarini was inaugurated by the Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik last year. This is the first Chaitra Jatra after the establishment of the new temple.

This festival is the most important of the many festivals celebrated at the Tara Tarini temple. Puja and offerings by the devotees are done to the Chalanti Pratima of deities placed at the Bije Pitha for the Bije Pratima. However Darshan of the deities in Garbha Griha is allowed. Special arrangements for offering of hair is also made. More than 250 barbers at the top hill and 500 barbers at the downhill are engaged to help in the hair offering of children and other devotees. Special Khechudi Bhoga is supplied to the devotees.