Mamata hopes to hold the Rath Yatra festival at Jagannath Temple in Digha next year

Kolkata: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday expressed her desire of hosting the Rath Yatra festival at Digha next year where the state government is setting up a Jagannath Temple similar to that in Puri.

The festival was celebrated with traditional fervour and enthusiasm across Bengal. The chariots of Lord Jagannath and his divine siblings Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra were taken out by clubs and households, specially children amidst the beating of cymbals and drums by the devotees.

Taking part in ISKCON’s Rath Yatra celebrations the Chief Minister also prayed for the souls of the victims of the Bahanaga train accident at Balasore in Odisha in which about 292 people died.

‘‘Daitapati from Puri had called me up before climbing the chariot today (Tuesday) and had said that he would pray for the welfare of our state. I have told him that if Lord Jagannath gives permission then maybe during next year’s Rath Yatra we will be able to host the festival at the big Jagannath temple that is being set up in Digha. We will try our best to hold the Rath Yatra festival there,“ Banerjee said, marking the beginning of ISKCON’s Rath Yatra in Kolkata.

Lauding the social activities undertaken by the International Society of Krishna Consciousness in the country and abroad, Banerjee said serving people is only next to serving God. She maintained that ISKCON has been given 700 acres of land in its headquarters in Mayapur for developing an International City. Mayapur’s ISKCON temple in Nadia is visited by lakhs of devotees from the country as well as abroad.

Referring to the tragic rail accident at Bahanaga, the Chief Minister prayed for the victims’ souls to rest in peace. “Rath Yatra symbolises freedom. I pray that the departed souls of the Odisha train accident rest in peace. I pray for peace for the state, country and the world at large,“ she said. Banerjee every year inaugurates the Rath Yatra festival organised by ISKCON by pulling the chariots that travel from the ISKCON temple at Minto Park to Brigade Parade Ground where a fair is organised for seven days before the chariots with the deities of Lord Jagannath, Subhadra and Balaram return to the ISKCON temple on June 28. Before inaugurating the Rath Yatra, Banerjee offered puja and performed aarti at the temple and offered mangoes from her own tree to the priests of the temple. Banerjee lauded the dance performance by Danseuse Dona Ganguly’s troupe at the event. Actors Mimi Chakraborty, Nusrat Jahan and Sayantika Banerjee were among others who were present at the ceremony.