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The annual Rath Yatra festival in Puri, Odisha, saw the chariots of Lord Jagannath and his siblings resume their journey towards the Gundicha Temple on Friday, as confirmed by officials. The delay in the 'Pahandi' ritual on Thursday prevented any of the three chariots from reaching the Gundicha Temple, located approximately 2.6 kilometers from the 12th-century Sri Jagannath Temple.

The deities remained on their chariots overnight. Amidst chants of 'Jai Jagannath', millions of devotees began pulling the chariots of the three deities—Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra, and Lord Jagannath—on Friday morning. The Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingha Deb, regarded as the chief servitor of the deities, stated in a video message, 'There is nothing wrong with pulling the chariots the day after the scheduled Rath Yatra.'

He noted that there have been instances when the chariots did not reach their destination on time and were pulled the following day. The process was halted on Thursday due to darkness. Lord Balabhadra's 'Taladhwaja' chariot stopped at Market Chowk after covering about 700 meters on Grand Road. Similarly, Devi Subhadra's 'Darpadalana' chariot halted after traveling approximately 400 meters at Marichikote Chhak, while Lord Jagannath's Nandighosh chariot was only pulled a few yards, stopping near the main temple's Singhadwara.

The Sri Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) estimates that between 1 to 1.2 million devotees participated in the Rath Yatra, while the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) reported a turnout of around 800,000 to 900,000. Arbind Padhy, the chief administrator of SJTA, informed reporters that there were no delays in the rituals, but the Pahandi process experienced a delay of over an hour.

The idol of Lord Jagannath was unable to move forward for about 40 minutes at the main gate, which contributed to the delay in the Pahandi. Padhy mentioned that the chariot-pulling process resumed at 9:30 AM on Friday, and the deities would remain on their chariots overnight. He added that the procession for the deities' entry into the Gundicha Temple would take place on Saturday.