Puri, June 2: At a time when carpenters are toiling hard to construct chariots for Srimandir deities at Rath Yard here, a few skilled workers of Orissa Co-operative Coir Corporation Limited have started making ropes for the three raths at a factory of the corporation at Birapratappur near Chandanpur in the district here.
The Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) has asked the coir corporation to supply altogether 14 ropes for the chariots. “Four ropes are required to pull a chariot during the Rath Yatra. The temple administration has ordered for two additional ropes to meet emergency situations,” said a source at the coir corporation.
Earlier, the SJTA were procuring coir ropes for the three chariots from Kerala. However, the practice was discontinued after metal strings were found in ropes meant for the chariots, sources said.
Subsequently, the temple administration had decided to procure ropes from Orissa Co-operative Coir Corporation Limited. The corporation has been supplying coir ropes for chariots since 2011.
It is learnt that the corporation usually procures handmade coir strings from coconut farmers in Sakhigopal, Kanas and Brahmagiri areas of the district to prepare the chariot ropes. “We need at least 1.15 quintal coir strings for preparing a chariot rope at our factory. Our workers apply mobil to the handmade strings to enhance the quality of the ropes,” said coir corporation official Rabindra Nath Jena.
This year, the corporation has engaged four employees and nine workers to prepare the chariot ropes at its Birapratappur factory. “The workers engaged in the rope-making are usually served non-vegetarian food cooked at the factory. We provide two cotton towels to each worker as part of a dress code for preparing the ropes. The daily remuneration of a worker has been fixed at Rs 350,” Laxmidhar Mishra, another official of the coir corporation.
It is learnt that the corporation has been facing problems to collect handmade coir strings for last few years. “Now-a-days, coconut farmers are reluctant to prepare coir strings. We have found nylon threads in machine made coir strings available in market. Anyway, we will supply chariot ropes to the SJTA prior to the Rath Yatra,” Mishra said.
As per the Srimandir tradition, ropes of the three chariots are named as some mythological serpents. The ropes of Nandighosa chariot are known as Sankhachuda, those of Darpadalan chariot are known as Swarnachuda while the ropes of Taladhwaja chariot are named as Basuki, said SJTA official Sudarshan Mekap.
According to sources, Srimandir servitors usually use chariot ropes in constructing pandals and swings for various temple rituals after the completion of annual Rath Yatra.
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