The collection of wood for the next Rath Yatra in 2023 began in the forests of Nayagarh. The identification and collection process began after offering worship to Maa Badaraula, the presiding Goddess of the Badamula jungle and formally inviting the Goddess to Rath Yatra. Following the puja, two separate teams set out in different directions in the forest where they will search for Asana, Dhaura, Simili and Fasi trees and collect timber, which will be used to construct chariots for Lord Jagannath, Devi Subhadra and Lord Balabhadra. Earlier on Monday, a four-member team led by Supervisor, Sudarshan Mekap from Srimandir in Puri had arrived at the office of Nayagarh DFO with the Agyanmala. As per reports, a total of 747 logs are required to build chariots for next Rath Yatra. Though 865 logs are required for the chariots, the rest 118 logs are in left-over stock collected last year. Speaking about the lesser number of logs, Nayagarh DFO, Khyama Sarangi said, “We had provided more than the required number of logs last year. So they currently have 118 logs at Puri. The remaining 747 logs will be collected from this jungle this year.” “We have a requirement of 747 logs this year including Asana, Dhaura and Fasi logs. We will start the logging process after identifying the trees,” said Sudarshan Mekap who is supervising the entire operation.