CM prays for safety of all on Rath Yatra, sends spl 'Puja' items to ISKCON

kolkata: On the auspicious occasion of Ratha Yatra on Monday, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee prayed to Lord Jagannath 'for the safety and well-being of all' at a time when people are passing through a distressed time of Covid pandemic.

"Warm wishes to all on the auspicious occasion of #RathYatra! I pray to Lord Jagannath for the safety and well-being of all my brothers and sisters. Jai Jagannath," Banerjee tweeted. Banerjee sent 'Puja' items at the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) temple. A special 'aarti' was also performed at the temple in the name of the Chief Minister on Monday. Earlier, Banerjee used to sweep the road to inaugurate the 'Rath Yatra' festival. But this year it has not become possible because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, the festival has been observed keeping in mind the prevailing pandemic situation and Lord Jagannath travelled in a cavalcade of 15 cars, covering a distance of three kilometres, as part of the ISKCON Kolkata's 50th year Rath Yatra celebrations instead of the hand-pulled chariot.

On the auspicious day of Ratha Yatra, the Chief Minister sought Lord Jagannath's blessings for the well being of people. This comes at the time when she had been working relentlessly to ensure the safety of the people of Bengal. On February 26 in 2020, the Chief Minister had offered prayers to Lord Jagannath at Puri and sought "restoration of peace and harmony without any more bloodshed" as at that time Delhi was witnessing the unprecedented violence over Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).