Wheels develop cracks, chariot comes to halt in Kendrapada

Four of the 14 wheels of the 64-ft long 'Bramahataladhawaja' chariot of the ancient Baladevjew temple in Kendrapada developed cracks on Monday, forcing the chariot to come to a stop before it could reach the Mausi Maa temple.
The chariot could not roll on Sunday as a devotee had touched the deities, forcing the priests to give them a bath and change their clothes.
On Monday, hundreds of devotees started pulling the chariot towards Mausi Maa temple when the spokes of four of the wheels broke. It took around four hours to repair the damaged wheels.
"Engineers tried their best to repair the damaged wheels," said Balabhadra Patri, the executive officer of Baladevjew temple.
On Tuesday, devotees will pull the chariot to Mausi Maa temple. "Wheels developed cracks due to poor construction work of the chariot," alleged Pravat Suar, a priest of the temple.
"The temple authorities used old timber to build the wheels of the chariot and as a result some of the wheels developed cracks. The journey of the chariot has now been delayed by two days. We hope on Tuesday the chariot will reach the temple," said Jagannath Dash, another priest of the temple.
"The inexperienced driver of the chariot was responsible for the cracks of the wheels as he moved the chariot in the wrong direction," Ramachandra Mishra, another priest at the temple, claimed.
"The chariot also faced obstructions in the road as the authorities failed to evict the several encroachers around Baladevjew temple for the smooth journey of the chariot," Gayadhar Dash, another priest at the temple, said.