Mamata Banerjee’s inauguration of Digha’s Jagannath Dham amid much fanfare will not be a one-off event, as the Bengal government is all set to organise a Puri-like majestic Ratha Yatra every year.
Besides setting up the massive ₹250 crore Jagannath temple and cultural centre on the seashore of Digha in East Midnapore, three chariots of Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra have been built and are ready to roll.
The three raths have been stationed near the Jagannath temple campus.
A source said that, like the temple, the chariots were also built in a style that follows the traditional features and culture of Puri’s 12th-century shrine.
“It was built in line with the traditional raths of Puri. The instructions were taken from representatives of Puri’s shrine,” said an official. However, he couldn’t confirm whether the tradition of rebuilding the chariots every year, like in Puri, would be followed at Digha.
A source said organising a massive Ratha Yatra in Digha was the brainchild of the chief minister, who reached Digha on Monday morning for a three-day trip leading up to the consecration and inauguration of the temple on Wednesday.
She extensively toured the 20-acre temple campus to oversee the preparations for the events. On Tuesday, Mamata will take part in a maha yajna on the temple premises. Danseuse Dona Ganguly will perform at Wednesday’s inaugural ceremony.
Illumination artists from Chandernagore have decked up Digha, while the roads are lined up with cutouts of Mamata and the Jagannath Dham, along with information about the inaugural ceremonies.
Besides visiting the temple, Mamata also met guests, particularly industrialists, who would take part in the inaugural programme.
A senior official said inviting industrialists to Digha was significant as the Bengal government wanted to boost Digha’s tourism with the help of the Jagannath shrine, focusing on the Ratha Yatra scheduled for June 27 this year.
A senior minister, who visited the temple on Monday evening, said the government expected lakhs of tourists to attend the Ratha Yatra in Digha, which shares borders with Odisha.
“We expect a lot of people from Bengal and other states, including Odisha, will visit Digha, as we know many people can’t visit Puri during the Ratha Yatra because of the huge rush,” said the minister.
“As the area shares the border with Odisha, we expect Jagannath devotees from the neighbouring state will also throng the seashore town in Bengal this June,” he added.
Multiple sources said Bengal was trying to create a Puri-like environment in Digha to give the seaside tourist spot a new boost in terms of pilgrimage and tourism.
“Even the area of the Jagannath temple in Digha is much bigger than the campus of Puri’s 12th-century shrine. All structures, including the raths, were made by closely copying Puri’s 12th-century shrine,” said an official.
After reaching Digha, Mamata said the shrine would carry the culture of Bengal, clubbed with the tradition of Puri’s Jagannath temple.
“This place will be a centre of culture, tradition, and harmony for the people of the current and next generations. There will be devotion and harmony, simultaneously,” said Mamata.
A Trinamool Congress leader said there was no competition with Odisha from the Bengal government’s side; rather, it was an effort to promote the culture of Jagannath, who is deeply connected with the people of Bengal.
“There can’t be any competition with the ancient Puri temple. It is an effort by Didi to promote the culture of Jagannath, who, as a deity, is deeply connected to Bengal,”
he said.
A source said organising such a massive inaugural event and planning to organise a majestic Ratha Yatra were politically significant.
East Midnapore is known as the stronghold of the Adhikaris, and Suvendu Adhikari, the leader of the Opposition who was once Mamata’s soldier, is considered the strongest BJP face against her.
“So, a boom in tourism in Digha will help her corner Adhikari, who has been strongly criticising her efforts for the Jagannath Dham. Besides the inauguration of the temple, the Ratha Yatra is very important as it would send a direct message to the saffron ecosystem, which has been accusing our party of minority appeasement,” said the
TMC leader.
The authorities of Puri’s Jagannath temple said they had no problem with Digha’s Ratha Yatra but would restrict any of their servitors from participating in the
Digha rituals.
“We don’t have any objections to the Ratha Yatra. It is being organised all over the world. The Rath Yatra should be organised according to the Tithi. It should be observed on the Dwitiya Tithi, or second day, of the bright fortnight (Shukla Paksha) of the Ashadha month. However, our sevayats (servitors) of Puri Shree Jagannath Temple should not be directly involved in any rituals of any temple. Let them go ahead with the Rath Yatra,” said senior servitor Padamanabha Mahasura.
Sources in the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) said they wouldn’t raise any objection to the Rath Yatra at Digha, but it should be done according to the Tithi. “Puri Gajapati, the first servitor of Lord Jagannath, always appealed to all to organise the Rath Yatra according to the Tithi only”.
Additional reporting by Subhasish Mohanty in Bhubaneswar