CM, wife take holy dip in Keonjhar on Makar Sankranti

Keonjhar/ Berhampur: Chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi, accompanied by his wife, Priyanka Marandi, took a holy dip in Baitarani river at Shaibya Kaveri Ghat near Rajnagar in Patna block of Keonjhar district on Makar Sankranti on Wednesday amid tight security. The district administration had made elaborate arrangements for the visit.

Majhi reached the ghat around 11.30 am and took seven dips in the river before offering holy water to the sun god. He later visited the Raghunath Jew temple on the riverbank, offered prayers and wished the people of Odisha well. “He took seven dips as per tradition and later had Makar pitha after the darshan of Lord Raghunath Jew,” said BJP leader Kiranbala Nayak, a close associate of the CM.


Majhi said he prayed for industrial growth in Keonjhar and overall development of the district and the state. Extensive security arrangements were in place, with police and fire services conducting checks ahead of the visit. Telkoi MLA Fakir Mohan Naik and two of the CM’s childhood friends also joined him in the ritual.

Last year, Majhi had taken a dip at Anusuya Teertha Ghat of the same river near the Patna block headquarters. The sacred Baitarani river originates from Gonasika hill in Banspal block of Keonjhar and flows through Keonjhar, Bhadrak and Jajpur districts for about 360 km before merging into the sea. Its name finds mention in several ancient epics, making it revered among devotees, researchers say.

Kalijai island, the abode of Goddess Kalijai inside the Chilka lake, attracted a huge crowd on Wednesday. Braving the winter chill, devotees from far-off places of the state and neighbouring Andhra Pradesh thronged the temple inside the lake from early in the morning. Devotees came to catch a glimpse of the goddess, the presiding deity of the fishermen, and to take holy dip in the blue lagoon.

Hundreds of boats have been anchored at Balugaon, Barkul, Keshapur and Krushna Prasad to ferry devotees to the temple. People have faith that their sins would be wiped out if they worship Maa Kalijai on the occasion.

“We have engaged around 200 boats to carry devotees to the Kalijai temple from Barkul jetty,” said Basant Nayak, president of Maa Kalijai Motorboat Owners’ Association. Similarly, around 120 boats were pressed into service at Balugaon jetty to ferry temple devotees to the temple. Boat drivers did not face much hindrance on the lake due to the dry weather without morning fog. Police have taken strict vigil on the violation of safety rules by the boatmen while ferrying the passengers.

The passengers have asked to wear the life jacket. At the same time, we also ensure to avoid the overloading in the boat” said JK Parida, inspector-in-charge of Balugaon police station. He said adequate police personnel had been deployed at Balugaon and Barkul jetties.

Meanwhile, the Telugu community in Berhampur took part in a colourful rangoli and traditional bonfire nighht to mark the three-day Pongal festival, which began from Tuesday. The first day of the festival was celebrated as Bhogi, while the second day will be celebrated as Pongal, also known as Makar Sankranti on Wednesday.

Several Telugu people, including women and children, gathered at Samajam to celebrate the Sankranti. They displayed their traditional culture, while Andhra Mahila Samajam organised cultural programmes by inviting cine singers from Andhra Pradesh. MLA (Berhampur) K Anil Kumar attended as guest at the event.