Mamata inaugurates first Rath Yatra from new Jagannath temple in Digha

    Digha, Jun 27 (PTI) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday inaugurated the first 'Rath Yatra' from the newly constructed Jagannath temple in the coastal town of Digha.
    Amidst chants of 'Joy Jagannath' by thousands of pilgrims, the CM along with her cabinet colleagues pulled the ropes of the chariots of Lord Jagannath and his two siblings — Balabhadra and Subhadra — this afternoon.
    She appealed through a public address system that the devotees could touch the ropes of all three chariots from inside the barricades along the 750-metre procession route from the main temple to the sibling deities' aunt's place.
    On Thursday, the CM had made it clear that none would be allowed to spill onto the street to pull the ropes of the chariots of the sibling deities.
    Earlier in the afternoon, Banerjee swept the road before the three chariots with a golden broom and offered 'arati' to the deities in a traditional ritual.
    A group of children of ISKCON devotees from abroad performed to music by Madhab’s rock band, drawing applause from the crowd.
    Around 40 ISKCON devotees, mostly international, danced for hours in front of the chariots to the devotional chants of 'Hare Ram, Hare Krishna."
    In a post on X, Banerjee said people cutting across different communities, religion, caste and creed have been taking part in Rath Yatra festival across Bengal for years.
    "We believe everyone can follow their own faith and beliefs, but the message of every festival is universal—spreading amity and brotherhood," she said in the post in Bengali wishing people on the occasion of Rath Yatra.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)