Bhubaneswar: In an effort to manage the crowd effectively during Rath Yatra, supporters accompanying VIPs will not be permitted into the restricted area of the chariots during this year’s festival, police said.In previous years, at least 10-20 supporters of ministers, MPs and MLAs were routinely allowed inside the cordon, leading to congestion and challenges to crowd management.The 2025 festival saw unprecedented chaos when indiscriminate pass distribution led to crowding near Lord Jagannath’s chariot. The congestion delayed the ceremonial pulling of chariot and drew sharp criticism from opposition parties and devotees.“Taking lessons from last year’s errors, the govt has substantially curtailed cordon passes. VIPs who have been issued passes have been requested not to press police to allow their supporters inside. The restriction applies equally to anyone without authorised passes,” a senior police officer said.At a review meeting in Puri on July 6, the chief minister directed Puri district collector Dibya Jyoti Parida to strictly cap the number of cordon passes and instructed police to ensure foolproof crowd control.“Last year, we saw an unprecedented surge of people inside the cordon — volunteers, political supporters, relatives of VIPs and servitors. Many had no passes, while others piggybacked on VIPs. This year, we will enforce restrictions strictly to keep the cordon less crowded and ensure smooth movement of chariots,” the officer added.Cordon passes, issued by the district collector, grant privileged proximity to the inner and outer cordons of the chariots and are typically issued to govt personnel, journalists, servitors and volunteers.Responding to an RTI query last year, the Puri district administration revealed that 2,500 cordon passes and 22,250 other passes were issued during last year’s Rath Yatra, with Rs 87,900 spent on printing and distribution.Another police officer suggested stricter limits — a maximum of 300 people, mostly servitors, inside the inner cordon and 200 in the outer cordon.“Effective and flawless crowd management is our priority. As a precautionary measure to prevent incidents like last year’s stampede, we have decided to regulate cordon passes to ensure decongestion near chariots,” the officer said.
