CM celebrates Ratha Yatra

She said this while inaugurating the Ratha Yatra festival organised by ISKON.Ratha Yatra was held in the city with great enthusiasm with people, particularly children, taking out small rathas decorated with coloured papers and flowers. Several big rathas were taken out in different parts in the city.

The procession of ISKON took Hungerford Street, AJC Bose Road, Sarat Bose Road,Hazra Road, Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Road, Asutosh Mukherjee Road, Exide Crossing, JL Nehru Road to TAI ground. Hundreds of people touched the rope which is considered to be holy.

A ratha was taken out from DKD railway colony and went to Madhab Bati on Bidhan Sarani after going through several streets in North Kolkata including Milk Colony, Raja Manindra Road, Indra Biswas Road to reach Hatibagan crossing.

A special programme was held at Balaram Mandir, a centre of Ramakrishna Mission in North Kolkata. The monks of the order along with the devotees pulled the rope of the ratha. It was Sri Ramakrishna who used to stay in the house of his householder disciple Balaram Basu had pulled the rope of the ratha. The festival is celebrated with solemnity and enthusiasm.

A procession was taken out from Sri Jagannath Bhavan at Sarsuna Satellite Township Housing Estate. In South Kolkata, a ratha was taken out from Chakraberia Road. The procession moved along Sarat Boase Road, Hazra Road, ATM Road.

The Ratha Yatra festival was observed at Mahesh off Serampore and Guptipara, both in Hooghly district. The ratha at Guptipara is over 600 year old. Guptipara where the temples with terracotta work on the walls have been restored and maintained by Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) was a ship building yard. Even today wooden boats are manufactured there.