CALCUTTA, July 6: Rathyatra in West Bengal was today marred by clashes and police firing in which one person was killed and six including five policemen were injured at Guptipara in Hooghly district, Deputy Inspector General Prasun Mukherjee said.

Unofficial sources however claimed that the two persons were killed in police firing.

He said that the devotees and stall-owners in the area clashed during the rathyatra. When the police intervened, they attacked them with brickbats and other missiles.

Police tried to disperse them by lathicharge and subsequently bursting of teargas shells. When it failed, they opened fire on the attacking mob killing one on the spot and injuring another seriously.

Meanwhile in Puri, over five lakh pilgrims from various parts of the country jostled for space on the wide Grand Road in front of the 12th century Sri Jagannath Temple for a glimpse of the deities as they came out of the shrine for their annual rendezvous with the devotees on the occasion of rathyatra.Though it rained last night and this morning, it failed to dampen the spirit of the devotees who watched the deities, Lord Balabhadra, Jagannath and their sister Subhadra, being ceremonially carried atop the three majestic wooden chariots lined up outside the temple.

Braving a continuous drizzle, the crowd broke into frenzied shouts of `Haribol' and `Jai Jagannath' as the deities made their appearance through the lion's gate with scores of sevayats swaying them to and fro, a ritual known as Pahandi in temple parlance.

The sevayats went through various intricate rituals before dawn preparing the idols for the festival, one of the most important in the Oriya almanac, before they were brought down the hallowed 22-steps, referred to as `baisi pahacha,' from the sanctum sanctorum.

The three chariots, the red and yellow Nandighosh of Lord Jagannath, the red and green Taladhwaj of Balabhadra and the red and black Darpadalan of Subhadra, were to act as the vehicles of transportation of the three deities to the Gundicha Temple.

The Gundicha Temple is about three kilometres down the Grand Road. The deities will spend nine days there.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.