Puri Rath Yatra concludes peacefully; Odisha govt rules out stampede in devotees’ deaths

Updated On: 17 July, 2026 09:34 AM IST | Bhubaneswar | ANI

The Odisha government said the 2026 Puri Rath Yatra concluded peacefully despite continuous rain, with nearly 8–9 lakh devotees participating. It clarified that two devotees who died during the festival were not victims of a stampede or crowd management failure, adding that extensive safety and emergency arrangements were in place.

Listen to this article :

Representation pic

The 2026 Rath Yatra in Puri concluded smoothly despite continuous rain and adverse weather conditions, adding that two devotees who died during the festival did not succumb due to any stampede or crowd management-related incident.

According to the CMO release, around 8 to 9 lakh devotees from Odisha, across the country and abroad participated in the world-famous Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra and Chakra Raj Sudarshan.