Bengal to observe rath yatra festival at Digha from next year: Mamata

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday said the coastal town of Digha would have rath yatra of Lord Jagannath from next year.

“Some works and processes are incomplete as of now, and they need to be concluded before the Lord’s wheels start moving next year onwards. The rath yatra of Digha will be observed with fullest respect and solemnity,” Ms. Banerjee posted on ‘X’.

The Chief Minister added, “We in West Bengal are erecting a pride-inspiring temple complex for Lord Jagannath at Digha. The Lord, Balabhadra and Subhadra will be worshipped here too”.

There were speculations in the administrative quarters that the Chief Minister will inaugurate the temple at Digha on the occasion of rath yatra scheduled for July 7. However, there seems to be no confirmation on the date for the inauguration of the temple. 

Questions have been raised in the political circles over the West Bengal government constructing a temple by spending over ₹100 crore.

Replica of Puri temple

The temple complex being built at Digha is a replica of the Jagannath temple in Puri in neighbouring State of Odisha. The temple is being built by the West Bengal Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation (WBHIDCO). The Chief Minister had in the past spoken about the temple and the proposed rath yatra festival at Digha.

A rath yatra procession of ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness) is organised in Kolkata every year and lakhs of devotees participate in the festival. Ms. Banerjee also participates in the religious event organised by ISKCON, which is headquartered at Mayapur in State’s Nadia district.

Over the past few years, the West Bengal government under Ms. Banerjee has started giving financial support to community Durga Pujas. In 2023, the State government had awarded ₹60,000 (₹10,000 more than the previous year) to each of the 43,000 community Durga Pujas and the total expenditure of the State government was ₹258 crore.