Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government on Wednesday approved a financial grant of Rs 1 crore for construction of a new chariot for Rath Yatra of Lord Baladevjew at the 300-year-old Baladevjew Temple at Ichhapur in Odisha’s Kendrapada district.
The directive was issued by the state’s Law Department through an official communique to the Commissioner of Endowments, Odisha.
“The state government has approved a special grant of Rs 1 crore for construction of ‘Brahma Taladhwaja Rath’ of the presiding deity of Tulasi Kshetra in Kendrapada. I express my endless gratitude to the Chief Minister. By the grace of Lord Baladevjew, may everyone’s life be filled with auspiciousness and well-being, this is my only prayer,” the Kendrapada MP, Baijayant Panda, posted in Odia on X.
According to sources, the wooden wheels of the existing chariot, used for carrying Lord Baladevjew, have degraded considerably over time. This has often in the past led to delays in reaching the designated destinations during Rath Yatra (chariot festival) and Bahuda Yatra (return journey). The delay in the rituals during the annual festival also caused resentment among the devotees.
In May 2025, the district administration procured 760 cubic feet of sal wood from the forest authorities of Telkoi in Keonjhar for constructing the 64-foot-high wooden chariot of the Baladevjew Temple, which also houses his younger siblings Lord Jagannath and Devi Subhadra. Later in November the same year, the state government announced a Rs 100-crore renovation plan for the shrine, which was built by Kujang king Raja Gopal Sandha in 1761 during Maratha rule in Odisha.