Paitalagi Niti Of Holy Trinity Today, Darshan Restricted For 4 Hours

by Utkalika Mohanty

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

The Paitalagi Niti ritual of of Lord Jagannath and his siblings Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra will be conducted today, for which darshan will remain closed for 4 hours from 6 PM to 10 PM, informed SJTA authorities.

Puri, May 6: The Paitalagi Niti ritual of of Lord Jagannath and his siblings Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra will be conducted today, for which darshan will remain closed for 4 hours from 6 PM to 10 PM, informed SJTA authorities.

During this period of time, no visitors will be allowed for the darshan of Lord Jagannath.

During this ritual, a large amount of rice, dal, various vegetable curries, and assorted cakes are presented to the sibling deities in the Bhoga Mandap Gruha.

During the 'Paita Lagi' ritual, the servitors will clothe the deities' bodies with a special silk cloth known as 'Basunga Patta'. Following this, sandalwood paste will be gently applied to the cloth as part of the intricate ceremony.

According to Srimandir servitor, the ritual is performed twice a year. If required, it is carried out for another time. The Daitapati servitors get divided into three teams and perform the ritual.

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Captain Gopichand, Five Others Set To Fly To Edge Of Space Aboard Blue Origin Mission

by Hemanta Pande

New Delhi, May 19: Captain Gopichand Thotakura, along with five others, is set to fly to the edge of space on Blue Origin's crewed flight mission on Sunday evening.

The launch window by billionaire Jeff Bezos-owned space venture for the 11-minute flight opens at 6.30 a.m. PT (7 p.m. India time).

"We're 'Go' to proceed to launch, Sunday, May 19. The #NS25 launch window opens from Launch Site One in West Texas," the company posted on X social media platform.

The reusable New Shepard rocket is set to take the six-person crew to space above the Karman line which is an internationally recognised boundary of space that lies 100 km above the Earth's surface.

It's been more than two since Blue Origin's last crewed flight.

The six travellers include 90-year-old Ed Dwight, Mason Angel, Sylvain Chiron, Kenneth L. Hess, Carol Schaller and Thotakura.

With this mission, Thotakura will become the second Indian to visit space, after Rakesh Sharma's journey aboard Russian Soyuz T-11 in 1984.

After Sharma, three people of Indian origin have reached space -- Kalpana Chawla (1997), Sunita Williams (2006), and Raja Chari (2021) as NASA astronauts.

Blue Origin's NS-25 mission is set to lift off from Launch Site One in West Texas in the US.

The company has undertaken six human flight missions to date, and launched 31 people to the Karman line.(IANS)

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Nimapara MLA Samir Ranjan Dash Quits BJD

by Hemanta Pande

Puri, May 19: In another jolt to Odisha’s ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) amid the ongoing general elections, former Minister and incumbent MLA from Nimapara, Samir Ranjan Dash resigned from the primary membership of the party on Sunday, days after being denied party ticket to contest the assembly polls.

According to sources, Dash sent his resignation letter to BJD president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

"I have been working for the Biju Janata Dal since 2006. Today, the BJD president has lost faith in me and the party's organisation in Gop and Nimapara... it is not appropriate for me to remain in the party. Hence I am resigning from the primary membership of the BJD," Dash said in a video message.

Dash, who won from the Nimapara seat thrice in a row in 2009, 2014 and 2019 on a BJD ticket, was denied the party ticket this time. Dillip Kumar Nayak, who recently joined BJD after resigning from BJP, was rewarded with the Nimapara ticket.

Later, the three-time legislator held a series of meetings with various segments of the constituency, including women, youth, and minority groups, garnering support for his electoral bid.

Dash was in the eye of a storm for his suspected role behind the suicide of BJD zilla parishad member Dharmendra Sahoo in September 2022. In the wake of the controversy, Samir had to step down as The School And Mass Education Minister in May 2023.