Nine-day chariot festival to commence from Friday

Navi Mumbai: Emulating the much-awaited Puri Rath Yatra in Orissa, the Navi Mumbai Rath Yatra will be held at Kharghar on July 13 onwards with great pomp and enthusiasm. Day 1 will be netrotsava when Lord will give appearance to hundreds of devotees after fourteen days of solitude. A special ceremony will be held in the evening when the ‘Chariot flag’ will be kept above the 33-feet tall wooden chariot or Rath in Kharghar.
On July 14, on the day of Rath yatra, chief deity Lord Jagannath will be seen in pitambar or yellow dresses along with idol of elder brother Balaram, sister Subhadra resting on the decorated Chariot.The grand procession will head towards Gundicha Ghar around 12 pm. The chariot will have nearly 200 mts long two strong ropes at both the side for support. Devotees from every nook and corner will come down to Kharghar to pull the rope with an intention to be blessed with a long life. The festival will be continued for nine days till July 22.
“This year's rath yatra festival will attract around 8,000 to 10,000 thousands devotees from across the city. This is the first year when Lord will be resting in the newly built sanctum sanctorum,” informed Samir Das the convenor from Maharashtra Odiya Welfare association, organizer of the grand rath yatra. On 22nd July, the occasion of Bahuda Yatra the deity will come back to His new resting place at the newly built Jagannath temple located in sector-5 Kharghar. Devotees can enjoy cultural events every evening 7 p.m onwards followed by mahaprasad for all the nine days. Initiatives like tree plantation drives and free medical camp will be conducted during the festivities.