Mamata inaugurates ISKCON Rath Yatra
Kolkata: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee took part in the ISKCON's Rath Yatra celebrations on Friday and also pulled the rope.
Banerjee tweeted: "Jai Jagannath! Greetings on the auspicious occasion of Ratha Yatra, the mighty move of the Lord, embracing all castes and creeds. May He bless us all."
ISKCON's Rath Yatra enters its 51st year in 2022. For the past two years, the Ratha Yatra procession was not held due to the pandemic.
Earlier, Banerjee offered her prayers and did "aarti". She was accompanied by her family members, party's MP Subrata Bakshi and Nusrat Jahan and MLA Soham Chakraborty. She prayed for world peace and prosperity for all.
The Raths of Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra left for 'Mashir Bari' that has been set up temporarily at the Brigade Parade ground via Hungerford Street, AJC Bose Road, Sarat Bose Road, Hazra Road, SP Mukherjee Road, Ashutosh Mukherjee Road and Jawaharlal Nehru Road. Hundreds of people stood on either side of the stretch along the route to have a darshan of the deity. The Rath will be stationed at the Brigade Parade ground and the fair set up in connection with the festival will remain open to the public from 4 pm to 9 pm.
The Ratha Yatra was held with great enthusiasm at the ISKCON headquarters at Mayapur. Devotees from 95 countries joined the celebrations.
At Balaram Mandir, the monks of Ramakrishna Math and Mission and the devotees pulled the rope. According to history, Shri Ramakrishna took part in the Rath Yatra festival at the house of Balaram Bose, one of his disciples, twice, namely on July 3, 1884 and July 14, 1885.
The 626-year-old Ratha Yatra at Mahesh in Hooghly was observed with great pomp and show. People from adjoining districts came to take part in the festival.
Elaborate police arrangements were made to maintain peace and ensure smooth flow of traffic. Buses and vehicles on the route of the ISKCON Rath were diverted.
People were seen taking photographs of the chariots.
Rath Yatra was celebrated at Mahisadal Rajbari in East Midnapore as well. Family members and locals took part in the festival.
Meanwhile, in keeping with the rituals, several noted families and clubs offered prayers to the wooden frame of Goddess Durga before making the idol of the deity. Jagannath temple of Kidderpore also took out chariots and according to the organiser, they will also hold different cultural festivals for the entire week.
