At least seven servitors who were among the many carrying the idol of Lord Balabhadra got injured after they slipped and fell along with the idol on Tuesday during a ceremony in Puri, Odisha.
As part of the Rath Yatra, three idols including Lord Jaganath, Goddess Shubhadra and Lord Balabhadra were carried by the servitors from the chariots to the Adapa Mandap of the Gundicha temple.
After the rituals are completed, the servitors carry the idols to the Adapa Mandap by gently swinging them which is called 'Pahandi'.
While carrying the idols to the mandap the incident took place.
The idol of Lord Balabhadra slipped on the makeshift ramp as per an India Today report and fell on the servitors.
The injured servitors were immediately rescued by the police personnel nearby and other servitors on the spot as they picked the idol from above the victims.
The injured servitors were then taken to the hospital for medical attention.
Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi expressed concern about the incident and asked Odisha Law Minister Parthiraj Harichandan to go to Puri right away and see how things are going.
He also wished the servitors who were hurt a fast recovery.
At least two persons died and over 130 were injured in two different incidents during Lord Jagannath's Rath Yatra in Odisha on Monday.
A resident of Bolangir district died allegedly due to suffocation in a stampede-like situation on Sunday during the Rath Yatra in Puri, a health official told PTI.
Meanwhile another devotee allegedly died after coming under the wheels of a chariot during Rath Yatra in Jharsuguda district on Sunday.
Expressing grief over his death, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi announced ex gratia of Rs 4 lakh for the next of kin of the deceased.
