Hindu community celebrates Ratha Yatra in Rajshahi

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RAJSHAHI, July 15, 2018 (BSS)-Members of the Hindu community have started
celebrating their nine-day major religious festival – Ratha Yatra- with due
religious fervour and festivity here since Saturday afternoon.

Thousands of Hindu devotees gathered at selected places and joined with
full enthusiasm the ritual of pulling chariots to celebrate the occasion.

Old and young, male and female, boys and girls together joined the ritual
amidst much fanfare.

The main Ratha Yatra programme in the metropolis was organised in Alupatty
area while in the district in Khetur Gourangabari area under Godagari
Upazila.

The main journey of Jagannath Dev was brought out from Rathbari to the
city’s Alupatty crossing Saturday afternoon, which paraded several city
streets with a festive mode.

Thousands of Hindu community members including female and children joined
in pulling the raths (chariot) by long ropes through various city streets.

The participants attired in traditional Hindu costumes beat drums and
played other musical instruments and walked along the streets.

A large number of onlookers on both sides of the road were seen witnessing
the colourful Ratha Yatra.

As part of the festival, a huge ‘Rather Mela’ is also being held on the
three-kilometer Kalpona hall crossing to Seroil bus terminal with the
participation of large number of shops displaying various traditional and
handicraft items like furniture, handicrafts, toys and sweetmeat.

A huge crowd was seen thronging the fair throughout the day. Hundreds of
devotees from different parts of the district as well as from neighboring
areas assembled here to observe the century-old Ratha Yatra festival of the
Hindu community.

The law enforcement agencies beefed up security measures to avert any
untoward incident for the sake of ensuring communal harmony on the occasion.