Rath Yatra to be held without pomp and splendour in Bengal this year

Rath Yatra is set to be a low-key affair in West Bengal this year, as several organising committees of annual car festival have called off festivities to avoid public garings in wake of COVID-19 outbreak.

International Society of Krishna Consciousness (ISKON) here has already scrapped its plan to take out chariots of Lord Jagannath and his divine siblings Lord Balabhadra and Subhadra Devi as this involves risk of contamination with a large number of devotees assembling to have a glimpse of deities.

festival is scheduled to be held on June 23 this year.

ISKON authorities have decided t to allow devotees inside its Albert Road temple premises here, where deities will be kept and rituals performed on next Tuesday in presence of servitors only, its spokesman Radharaman Das told PTI.

"We had initially decided to allow a very small number of devotees inside temple compound during rituals on June 23. Following Supreme Court's stay on Rath Yatra in Puri, we have w made a decision that devotee will be allowed inside our temple on that day," Das said.

Priests and a handful of its staff will pull a one-foot high chariot inside temple compound as a symbolic Rath Yatra, he said.

devotees will, however, be able to witness rituals live on social media, Das said.

"We are sad that rituals will be performed without any fanfare this year. But re is or way in present circumstances," he said.

624-year-old Mahesh Rath Yatra, stated to be second-oldest after Puri, will t take place this year in wake of COVID-19 pandemic.

Piyal Adhikary, working secretary and managing 'sevayat' of Jagannath Temple committee, Mahesh in Hooghly district, said devotee will be allowed to enter temple where Lord Jagannath and his two siblings will be worshipped.

authorities of ISKON, Mayapur, global headquarters of organisation, will hold a digital Rath Yatra this year.

A vel initiative -'Mercy on Wheels'- will enable devotees across six continents to participate in digital Rath Yatra by logging in for free.

"Every year, Rath Yatra at Mayapur Dham is a grand carnival and draws close to 2 lakh people. Usually, chariots are pulled covering a 6-km stretch from ISKCON Rajapur temple to Chandradaya. This time, this will t be organised due to current pandemic," spokesperson Subrata Das said.

safety of visitors and devotees is most important to authorities, he said.

"While y will t be able to witness pulling of chariots, we are reaching out to each devotee through digital media," he said.

Organisers of annual car festival in Belgharia's Rathtala, Madhab Bari in Hatibagan, Sodepur Hindu Milan Mandir among ors have also cancelled all celebrations this year.

"We have been advised by administration t to take out chariots. We will t be celebrating Rath Yatra this time," Dinabandhu Chakraborty of Sodepur Hindu Milan Mandir said.

(Representative im, courtesy: PTI)