Bengaluru: The Annual Rath Yatra Festival was celebrated in Bengaluru amidst Covid restrictions commencing from the wee hours of the day . The religious rituals like Mangala Arti, Abakash, Mailan, Worshipping Sun, Worshipping Gatekeepers and SahanaMela were performed at the main Jagannath temple of the city situated at Agara. Adhering to the covid protocols, the celebration of the Rath yatra has been restricted to the premises of the temple only.
However the temple administration had arranged the live streaming of the estival through their Facebook page. The Dhadi Pahandi of all four Deities were done between 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM in afternoon. Lord Balavadra, Goddess Subhadra, Lord Jagannath and Lord Sudarshan were taken in a procession from the Anasara room in the upper floor to the Hall at ground floor with the playing of Ghanta, Kartal, mrudanga, Jhanja and chanting of Jai Jagannath slogans by limited number of servitors. Trustee of the temple trust Chakradhar Swain did the Chhera Pahanra in front of the deities. In pursuance of the new guidelines issued by Karnataka Government the devotees were allowed to witness the deities during the Sahana Mela time in the morning and in the evening. The deities will remain at the Ground Floor of the temple till Niladri Bije, informed by Managing Trustee and renowned Neurosurgeon Dr. Pratap Pani.
The Trustees of the Temple who played vital role in organising this year’s Rath Yatra Festival include Managing Trustee Dr. Pratap Pani, Nihar Samantara, N.R.B. Patnaik, Hara Prasad Mohapatra, Satikanta Sarangi, Chakradhar Swain, Prakash Samantara, J.P.Udgata, Kamakhya Panda, Punyasloka Khuntia, Manoj Mahapatra, Niranjan Sahoo and Manoj Patra.
