26-06-2025
Temples in city to organise Rath Yatra tomorrow
Visakhapatnam: Krishna temples in Visakhapatnam gear up to celebrate Rath Yatra scheduled on June 27 (Friday).
As part of it, International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) is celebrating the eighteenth edition of Sri Jagannath Ratha Yatra on the auspicious day of 'Ashada Shukla Dvitiya Thithi' falling on June 27.
Like every year, this year also, the temple is arranging three separate chariots for deities of Jagannath, Baladev and Subhadra. The chariots, built with mechanised collapsible canopies of 37-ft height, will be drawn along the routes in a single procession.
As per the schedule, the procession starts from Central Park parking area, opposite to Government Women's College, Near LIC building at 4 pm. And it passes via LIC Building, Ambedkar Statue, Dabagardens, Jagadamba Junction, Waltair Main Road and Siripuram before concluding at Gurajada Kalakshetram, Siripuram wherein thousands of devotees assemble to hear the pastimes of Lord Jagannath and watch cultural programmes. More than 501 varieties of special dishes will be offered to Lord Jagannath on the occasion.
The colourful canopies for Rathams were sourced from Pipili, Odisha to give a Puri flavour to the festival. Along with them, a special miniature Ratha will carry the idol of Srila Prabhupad, the founder Acharya of ISKCON. Cultural programmes will be presented by artistes arriving from Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal and Odisha on the occasion.
The Hare Krishna Movement in Visakhapatnam is planning to celebrate Rath Yatra the same day. Harinam Sankirtan, cultural programmes and distribution of prasad form a part of the festival celebrations.
The yatra here starts from IIAM College and comes back to the same place after passing through MVP double road, Isukathota, Venkojipalem and Beach Road. The celebration is scheduled to commence from 5 pm onwards.
Sri Jagannath Swamy temple, Kotha Road in Old Town Area is gearing up for the celebration. The Rath Yatra of the temple is slated to commence from 4 pm onwards. Scores of devotees are expected to take part in the yatra and witness a number of devotional activities planned for the occasion.
