The festival of Rath Yatra concluded in Bangladesh on Monday with the pulling of the rope of Ulto Rath at Dhamrai, Dhaka and several other places in the country. The festival of Lord Jagannath started on July 7. Hundreds of devotees took part in the religious festivity on this important festival of Hindus in Bangladesh.

The Rath Yatra begins on the second day of the Shuklapaksha of Asharh month of Hindu calendar. It concludes on the 9th day with the returning Rath Yatra called Ulto Rath.

The programmes started in the morning at the centuries old temple at Dhamrai and in Dhaka with activities like Kirtan, discourses, agnihotra, cultural events, recitation from the Gita and distribution of the Mahaprasad.

The ancient Dhakeshwari temple in the capital brought out a colourful procession carrying the idols and images of Lord Jagannath, his elder brother Balrram and Subhadra placed on large chariots. A discourse was also held at the Dhakeshwari temple before the start of the procession. The procession ended at the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKON) temple in Swamibagh area.

Several prominent people of Bangladesh including Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder, Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad President JL Bhowmik, among others took part in the programme.

The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKON) conducted a nine-day programme in Dhaka.

The final day’s event of pulling the Ulto Rath was celebrated at Dhamrai in Manikganj district near Dhaka. The Rath Yatra celebration at Dhamrai is a centuries old tradition which is observed at the place where the ancient temple was burnt down by the Pakistani forces in 1971. It was later rebuilt with the support of the government of India.

Navalsang Parmar (Dhaka)