Bhubaneswar, Dec. 31 -- With widespread enthusiasm to welcome the New Year, a large influx of devotees from across Odisha and outisde is expected at Puri as thousands plan to begin the year with the darshan of Lord Jagannath and His Siblings at Srimandir. In view of the anticipated rush, extensive arrangements have been put in place at the pilgrim town to ensure orderly darshan, devotee safety and smooth crowd management.

As per the finalised schedule, Lord Jagannath's pahuda will be observed at 11 pm on Wednesday night. The Dwaraphita ritual will be performed from 2 am, following which darshan for devotees will commence. Authorities are prepared for continuous crowd movement from the early hours of the New Year.

Anticipating a massive ...