More than 600 people fell ill during the annual Rath Yatra festival in Puri on Friday due to extreme heat and overcrowding. However, there have been no casualties. Puri鈥檚 Chief District Medical Officer, Dr. Kishore Satapathy, said many devotees reported symptoms such as vomiting, fainting, and minor injuries. Most were treated at outpatient departments and later discharged. 鈥淭here were no casualties,鈥 Satapathy said. Odisha Health and Family Welfare Minister Mukesh Mahaling said the hot and humid weather was the main cause behind the large number of health issues. Officials said around 70 people remained under treatment at the District Headquarters Hospital, and nine were in critical condition. A large number of injuries were also reported from the Balagandi area, where Lord Balabhadra鈥檚 chariot, Taladhwaja, was stuck for over an hour. The blockage caused severe crowding, and several people were hurt while trying to escape the congestion, a local official said. Volunteers from both government and private groups helped move the injured to hospitals. Meanwhile, Lord Jagannath devotees will get another chance to pull the chariots today as none of them reached their destination on Friday after Balabhadra鈥檚 Taladwaja chariot got stuck while negotiating a turn, causing delays that prevented the others from arriving at Gundicha Temple, 2.6km away from the 12th-century shrine. “There is no major issue. It is not unusual for chariots to be pulled on the following day. All rituals were conducted on time. There have been no accidents or untoward incidents,” Odisha Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan said. When Lord Balabhadra鈥檚 chariot came to a halt at Balagandi Chhak, Devi Subhadra鈥檚 Darpadalan was stopped at Marichkote in Puri town. Meanwhile, Lord Jagannath鈥檚 Nandighosh chariot was only symbolically pulled as part of the ritual and remains parked near the main temple. An estimated one million devotees gathered in Puri for the annual Rath Yatra, according to officials. (With PTI inputs)