Devotees poured into the seaside town to watch the grand ceremony and pull the three majestic and colourful chariots on the 'bada danda', the grand avenue.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Tollywood actor Koel Mallick pulls the Lord Jagannath chariot during ISKCON Rathyatra in Kolkata on Saturday
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee paid obeisance to Lord Jagannath at the start of the Rath Yatra at the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) temple on Albert Road.
Banerjee flagged off the festival with a tug on the rope as believers sang and danced all the way through to the rhythmic beats of cymbals and drums. "This year #NabakalebaraRathaJatra is being celebrated. This is very special. Let us maintain communal harmony during festivals," she said.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee greets devotees during ISKCON Rathyatra in Kolkata on Saturday
Devotees from 100 countries, including the US, Italy, France, Malaysia and Singapore descended on the eastern metropolis to celebrate the festival. Celebrities from the regional film industry including actor and Trinamool Congress MP Dev and actress Koel Mullick also participated in the gaiety.
Dehradun: Chief Minister Harish Rawat sweeping the path at the start of Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath in Dehradun on Saturday.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat today took part in a grand rath yatra of Lord Jagannath in the city on the lines of Puri Gundicha rath yatra It was the millenium's first Nabakalebar yatra of Lord Jagannath, marking the assumption of a new form by the deity, which takes place every 19 years.
Before the presiding deities - Lord Jagannath, his elder brother Lord Balabhadra and their sister Devi Subhadra - set out from the sanctum sanctorum of the temple, a number of special rituals like Mangla Arati and Mailam were held.
