Mamata pulls ropes of chariot at ISKCON Rath Yatra in Kolkata
The Hindu
Thousands of devotees celebrate Rath Yatra in Kolkata with dance and chants, led by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on July 7 pulled ropes of the chariot at ISKCON Rath Yatra here after paying obeisance to Lord Jagannath.
Braving rains, thousands of devotees gathered to participate in the festival and they were dancing and chanting 'Jai Jagannath' along with the monks of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness.
"Jai Jagannath to all of you throughout the world, all my ISKCON brothers and sisters and devotees on this auspicious day," she said.
Ms. Banerjee performed 'arati' with candles and offered prayers to the deities of Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra and Suvadra on the chariot in front of the ISKCON temple, before pulling the ropes of the chariot at the start of the Rath Yatra along with the devotees and monks.
"We live together with all religions. Jagannath Dev is very sacred to all of us," Ms. Banerjee, who attends the ISKCON Rath Yatra every year, said.
The Chief Minister said a large number of people from the state participated in the Rath Yatra festival in Odisha's Puri, as well as in Hooghly district's Mahesh, the oldest Rath Yatra in West Bengal, and Kolkata and other places.
Stating that a temple, which is a replica of Puri's Jagannath temple, in the seaside tourist town Digha is almost complete, Ms. Banerjee said that it will be inaugurated after the Durga Puja.
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