First Rath Yatra in Digha draws lakhs to seaside town

Time of India

6 hours ago

Digha: A sea of devotees swamped the road as the wheels of chariots rolled for the maiden Rath Yatra in Digha on Friday. In keeping with the tradition followed for the chariot festival in Puri, chief minister Mamata Banerjee took part in rituals, washed the road where the three chariots were parked, performed aarti with earthen lamps, and swept the path with a gold broom to set off the Rath Yatra from Jagannath Dham.
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The rain could not dampen the festive fervour of devotees who started thronging the temple area with umbrellas since 6 am. The priests began the rituals around 9 am and the crowd swelled after 9.30 am, when the chariots decorated with flowers were parked outside the temple.
The security in the precincts of the newly constructed Jagannath temple had been tightened since morning, and cops took a slew of measures to ensure smooth pedestrian traffic on barricaded pavements.
A high alert was issued throughout Digha. Traffic on 116B National Highway leading from Old Digha to the Jagannath temple was shut. Over 20 police camps were set up, with more than 3,000 personnel deployed to implement the security arrangements monitored by senior officers of Kolkata Police, including DG Rajeev Kumar.
Drop gates were also installed on the road leading to the temple.
Around 10 am, the three deities boarded the chariots for the 'Pahandi Vijay' ritual.
Devotional music played on stereo, and a dance performance by around 40 Iskcon devotees, mostly from abroad, entertained the audience.
Around 2 pm, the CM reached the venue along with her cabinet colleagues and state ministers Aroop Biswas, Chandrima Bhattacharya, Sujit Bose, and Indranil Sen. There was a performance by children along with music from Madhab's rock band, after which, flanked by members of Iskcon, the CM set the wheels of the chariots rolling by pulling their ropes individually amid chants of "Jai Jagannath" by thousands of pilgrims, including foreigners.
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Radharamn Das, a trustee of Digha Jagannath Dham and vice-president of Iskcon Kolkata, said, "The chariot festival in Digha has been organised following all the rituals of the Puri temple. However, as this is the first time the festival is being held here, the CM was adamant about not compromising on security. Therefore, the general public was not allowed to pull the chariot ropes. Instead, two ropes from the chariot were passed through a barricade, allowing everyone to touch them.
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"The CM decided every aspect of this year's festival. Accordingly, Balabhadra's chariot was placed first, followed by Subhadra's. Jagannath's chariot brought up the rear," he said.
All devotees and visitors at the temple received prasad on Friday.
The district administration are now preparing for Ulto Rath on July 5. "Although the chief minister may not be present here during the return journey of the chariots, there will be no compromise on security," an official said.