Bhubaneswar: A devotee died after reportedly falling ill during the Bahuda Yatra of Lord Jagannath and his siblings in Odisha’s Puri city on Friday.

The deceased has been identified as Abhiram Das (56) of Cuttack.

Das reportedly fell ill due to heavy rush during the pulling of chariots on the Grand Road in the evening.

The devotee was immediately rushed to the Puri district headquarters hospital (DHH). He died while being treated at the health facility, reports said.

It is worth mentioning here that two devotees had lost their lives due to crowd surge during the Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath and his siblings Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra in the Holy City on July 16.

The deceased were identified as Anil Dash of Cuttack and Ashok Subare Raikar of Mumbai. The state government had announced an ex-gratia of Rs 10 lakh each to the families of two deceased devotees.   

Biju Janata Dal, the main Opposition party, meanwhile targeted the BJP government in Odisha for the death of three devotees during the ongoing Rath Yatra in Puri. The party blamed gross administrative failure in this regard.

The Naveen Patnaik-led part has sought a judicial inquiry into the matter.