Puri: Social media, especially WhatsApp, came in handy for the district administration here to trace people who got separated from their families or relatives during the Rath Yatra.
According to Puri district Information and Public Relations officer Guruveer Singh, the administration has traced more than 1,000 people who got separated from their near and dear ones during this year’s Rath Yatra or car festival.
Lakhs of devotees from across the globe usually congregate in the Holy City here to witness the Car Festival of Lord Jagannath and his siblings Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra. Many people, especially elderly ones and children, often get separated from their family members or relatives during the mega event.
The Puri district administration used to face a tough task to trace the people who got separated from their families during Rath Yatra.
This year, the district administration opened altogether 11 information centres in the Holy City and on its outskirts to help devotees trace their missing family members. The information centres were opened at the Lions’ Gate of Srimandir, Jagannath Ballav mutt, Balagandi Square, Badasankha Square, city’s open-air theatre, Subhas Bose Square, Digabareni Square, Pantha Bhawan, Talabania and Puri railway station.
Moreover, the administration created a WhatsApp group to link all these information centres in the city.
“We posted the photos and other details of persons who got separated from their families in the WhatsApp group. As a result, the photos and addresses of such persons were displayed at all information centres simultaneously. Through this process, we reunited the members of many families,” said Singh.
According to Singh, many elderly persons and children got separated from their families during this year’s Rath Yatra. “The volunteers brought several such children to information centres. The children were unable to tell their address. We immediately posted their photos on the WhatsApp group. Eventually, we succeeded in reuniting the children with their relatives,” Singh said.
Singh claimed that the district administration kept detailed records while handing over the missing children to their parents. “Officials of the Childline were deployed at all the information centres to keep a record of children who were handed over to their relatives. Even, we reunited a couple that got separated during this year’s Car Festival,” Singh said.
Officials of the district administration claimed that they have provided financial help to some devotees who had either lost their money or were pick-pocketed during Rath Yatra “We provided food to and arranged for bus or train tickets for such devotees,” said an official.
