Puri: The chariot construction engineering committee Saturday found defects in the wheels of Devadalan and Taladhwaja chariots of Devi Subhadra and Lord Balabhadra respectively.
The members, during inspection, found cracks in the axle of wheel of Devadalan chariot and spokes of Taladhwaja. Later, the axle was replaced with new one. Similarly, construction of spoke of the Taladhwaja chariot began and the weak spoke is expected to be replaced soon after the construction.
Similarly, defect was noticed in the wood used for construction of the spokes of Nandighosh, the chariot of Lord Jagannath. Later, construction of new spoke has been started with new woods. One of the spokes of Nandighosh chariot was also found weak and it was replaced with new one.
Sources said the team comprised chief administrator (ritual) Pradip Kumar Das, Srimandir executive engineer Asish Kumar Subudhi, caretaker Sudarshan Mekap, engineer Jagannath Mishra, Srimandir managing committee members Ramchandra Das Mohapatra and Bhagaban Mohapatra visited the Rath Yard and inspected the works.
Notably, due to defects in chariot construction the axle of Devi Subhadra’s chariot had broken just three days before the Rath Yatra last year. However, the broken axle was replaced by the Maharana servitors a day before the Rath Yatra.
This year the temple administration has emphasised on inspection during the chariot construction. An 11-member chariot construction engineering committee has been constituted. However, there are reports that the Maharana servitors are unhappy as the administration did not raise 20 per cent of their payment. Three chief maharana servitors have resigned from the chariot construction committee.
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