West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday inaugurated the first Rath Yatra from the newly constructed Jagannath temple in the coastal town of Digha.
Amid the chants of 'Joy Jagannath' by thousands of pilgrims, including foreigners, the CM, along with her cabinet colleagues, pulled the ropes of the chariots of Lord Jagannath and his two siblings Balabhadra and Subhadra this afternoon.
She appealed through a public address system that the devotees could touch the ropes of all three chariots from inside the barricades along the 750-metre procession from the main temple to the sibling deities' aunt's place.
Pilgrims attending the grand Rath Yatra festival originating from the newly constructed Jagannath temple in Digha on Friday have been asked to stand behind barricades along the procession route.
They wouldn't be allowed to spill onto the streets to pull the ropes of the chariots of the sibling deities, Banerjee had said on Thursday.
Earlier, the CM ceremonially swept the road before three chariots with a golden broom around 2 pm and offered 'arati' to the sibling deities.
She also witnessed a cultural programme of a group of children of ISKCON devotees from abroad, who were performing to the tune of music by Madhab's rock band.
Earlier in the day, around 40 ISKCON devotees, mostly from abroad, danced to the beats of 'Hare Ram, Hare Krishna' before the chariots for hours.