The annual Rath Yatra of lord Jagannath was taken out with religious fervor and full rituals from Shri Jagannath temple at Gayatri Nagar here on Sunday.

Former Chhattisgarh Governor Shekhar Dutt, Chief Minister Raman Singh, Assembly Speaker Gauri Shankar Agrawal and Agriculture Minister Brijmohan Agrawal performed “Chherapanhra” (the ceremonial sweeping of the floor of the chariot by a golden broom) at the Rath Yatra.

First lady Susmita Dutt, Chief Minister’s wife Veena Singh, Assembly Speaker’s wife Anguri Devi performed the ritual of sprinkling holy water on the route of lord Jagananth Rath Yatra. The guests along with scores of devotees performed the rituals with enthusiasm amidst traditional nagara (drum beats) and blowing of shankhas.The devotes thronged to get a glimpse of lord Jagannath and his siblings lord Balbhadra and Devi Subhadra when their idols were taken out of the temple and placed on their respective chariots.

The chariot (Rath) of lord Jagannath is called ‘Nandi Ghosh’ while the chariot of lord Balbhadra Dauji is called ‘Taldhwaj’. The chariot of Devi Subhadra is called ‘Devdalan Rath.’ The priests performed the special abhishek, puja and havan and cleaned the Rath with chandan, kesar, kasturi and kapur.

The distinguished guests performed puja and paid obeisance to the deities inside the temple premises and later performed the rituals including ‘Chherapanhara’ and sprinkling of water on the route before the chariots moved out in the city. Earlier the guests were welcomed by President of Shri Jagannath Sewa Samiti Purandar Mishra.

Former Governor Shekhar Dutt conveyed greetings to the people and said that the Rath Yatra of lord Jagannath is the festival of faith and extremely important day for public. The festival deeply linked to our culture is very auspicious for all, added Dutt. Chief Minister Raman Singh said that the festival is an auspicious day for the State as well as the entire country. Similar scene was witnessed at the Rath Yatras organised at Mana and Kali Nagar (Kalimata Ward) where people performed the rituals and pulled the chariots of the deities.

Devotees dressed up in rich colours danced to the tune of nagaras and hailed the deities in chorus. People prayed to the lord Jagannath for a good monsoon. later, mahaprasad was distributed among the devotees after the culmination of the procession. Proper security arrangements were made for the Rath Yatra and nothing untoward was reported during the festival.