Kendrapada: The chariot of Baladevjew temple could not reach Mausima temple, 2 km away, Saturday because four out of 14 wheels of the 65-ft-high chariot developed cracks. On Friday, the chariot, ‘Bramahataladhawaja’, was pulled for only 10 metres. During chariot pulling on Saturday, spokes of some wheels broke down partially and the chariot leaned towards the left side. Engineers and carpenters failed to repair the wheels. Chariot pulling is likely to resume Sunday. “Engineers are trying their best to repair the damaged wheels and lift the chariot using machines,” said Balabhadra Patri, the executive officer of Baladevjew temple.He said this year only four new wheels were built while the rest were repaired due to shortage of good quality wood. “Though chariot building starts on Akshaya Tritiya, this year we started much later on May 23 because the forest department failed to provide the wood in time,” said Patri. Forest department provided 760 cubic feet of sal wood for the chariots. “Wheels developed cracks due to poor quality of construction,” said Ganesh Suar, a priest of the temple. “The temple authorities used old timber to build the wheels as a result many wheels developed cracks. Chariot pulling has been delayed by two days,” said Pramod Dash, another priest. Also, authorities failed to evict encroachers around the Baladevjew temple for smooth movement of the chariot, said Mahendra Dash, a priest.The Baladevjew temple was built by king of Kujang Raja Gopal Sandha during the Maratha rule in Odisha in 1761 at Ichapur in Kendrapada town.
