What began as a spiritual journey turned into a night-long ordeal on the roads as lakhs of devotees poured into Puri to witness the grand Sunabesha of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra on their chariots.
From early Saturday morning, the National Highway connecting Bhubaneswar to Puri witnessed an unprecedented surge in vehicles. Long queues of cars, buses and two-wheelers stretched for kilometres, turning both the main Kataka-Bhubaneswar-Puri road and the bypass into slow-moving rivers of steel and faith. By late evening, the congestion had intensified so much that traffic police reported waiting times of over three hours at Malatipatpur, with the delay only growing past 10 pm.
Odisha Police’s Traffic Control Room in Puri had issued a special advisory from morning till late night, urging devotees to plan carefully. Yet the call of the deities proved stronger. Ignoring warnings, countless pilgrims headed straight for Badadanda, where the three chariots stand majestically in front of the Singhadwara of Srimandir after Friday’s Bahuda Yatra.
To ease the pressure, authorities diverted all vehicles towards the Talabania axis. Still, the Uttara Chhak junction remained virtually choked on both sides, with many travellers forced to park on the roadside and wait patiently under the night sky.“
The flow of vehicles from Bhubaneswar towards Puri continues to rise. Devotees are requested to keep sufficient time in hand for darshan,” the traffic advisory stated. Police appealed to pilgrims to travel with patience, cooperate fully with on-duty personnel, and strictly follow all traffic instructions for a safe and orderly experience.
The spectacle itself is breathtaking. After completing their Lila at Gundicha Temple, the deities returned and are now offering darshan in their dazzling Sunabesha (golden attire) as Rajadhiraja on the chariots. With the weather turning clear after Bahuda, the crowd on Badadanda has swelled further, turning the sacred stretch into a sea of devotion.
As the night deepens, the roads remain packed, but the spirit of the devotees stays unbroken — a living testament to the magnetic pull of Lord Jagannath.
