Overview
- Devotees floated miniature boats across Odisha at sites including Bhubaneswar’s Bindu Sagar and Cuttack’s Gadagadia ghat to honor the state’s maritime heritage, and the day also heralded the start of Cuttack’s seven-day Bali Yatra fair.
- At Puri’s Jagannath temple, the deities of Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra were adorned in the Raja Rajeswari Bhesa, one of the temple’s five special golden attires.
- Temple officials said roughly one lakh devotees visited by 11 am, with the SJTA keeping the shrine open all night and district police implementing extensive crowd-management measures.
- President Droupadi Murmu conveyed greetings on Boita Bandana and Bali Yatra in a post on X, as Odisha’s governor, chief minister and other leaders also extended wishes.
- The festival’s reach was reflected in Delhi, where the Hauz Khas Jagannath temple hosted a boat-sailing rite with hundreds of participants, a decorated vessel, invited guests and performances by noted singers and dance troupes.