E Arun & Tarun Kartick
Port Blair, Jul 10: Along with the rest of the country Jagannath Rath Yatra is also being celebrated in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. In Port Blair the yatra started at about 3:30 PM from Rajasthan Mandir and took the route Rajasthan Mandir-Raj Niwas- Bangali Club-Lighthouse-Junglighat- Dairy farm-VIP Road- DC Office- Raj Niwas- Odihsa Utkal Samaj Building. The yatra is going to halt at the Ordhisa Utkal Samaj Building for about nine days and then will return back to Rajasthan Mandir via opposite route. Nearly 1500 devotees participated in today’s Rath Yatra.
The festival marks the age-old annual journey of the three deities from the 12th century Jagannath temple in Puri, Odisha, to their aunt’s residence in the Gundicha temple, 3 km away. The festival is celebrated elsewhere too in the country by the faithfuls.
