Latest news with #IskconKolkata
Time of India
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Safety most important during Digha rath: CM
Kolkata: The safety and security of people arriving in Digha for the Rath Yatra should be of paramount importance, chief minister said at a meeting on the marquee event scheduled for June 27. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now To prevent a stampede-like situation, it has been decided that devotees will be allowed to touch the rope but not pull the Rath. Additionally, the timing of the Yatra will be determined on the day of the Rath according to the situation. At the hour-and-a-half-long meeting, which began on a sombre note with prayers for those killed in the flight crash in Ahmedabad, the CM stressed the need to ensure that no accident occurs in Digha during the Rath Yatra. With an estimated two lakh people expected to attend the event, Banerjee and the district administration are wary about the crowd converging on the narrow road for the Rath Yatra. A large number of policemen and volunteers will be deployed to control the crowd. The administration has been asked to channel the crowd into the temple for darshan of the stone idols of Jagannath, Balaram, and Subhadra before the devotees visit the raths, touch the rope, and move on. The Jagannath temple has a holding capacity of 80,000 to 1 lakh people. Unlike Kolkata, where the Iskcon Rath traverses 7 km from Albert Road to the Maidan, the distance between the temple and Mashir Bari, where the Rath will reside for seven days, is less than a kilometre away. Hence, there is concern that there may be overcrowding on the stretch. "There is another concern. Unlike the raths in Kolkata that have steering and brake, the raths in Digha are traditional ones like Puri. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Hence, they will roll at a very slow pace,. But still, it will not take more than an hour to cover the short distance," said Iskcon Kolkata vice-president Radharamn Das. The decision on when to allow the actual Rath Yatra has been left to the police. The green signal for the Rath Yatra to begin will be given only when the crowd is manageable. Only volunteers will be allowed to pull the chariot. The CM will be present in Digha during the Rath Yatra and will present a golden broom to clean the chariot's path. She is expected to reach Digha on the eve of the event. Vehicle movement in the seaside town will be restricted from that day.
Time of India
10-06-2025
- General
- Time of India
Digha temple ready for Snan Yatra today
1 2 Digha: Lord Jagannath will make his last public appearance on Wednesday during the royal bathing ceremony, 'Snan Yatra', ahead of his fortnight-long seclusion. The Jagannath Temple in Digha has erected a special pavilion, where idols of Jagannath, Balaram and Subhadra will undergo ceremonial bath. The temple doors will next open on June 26, on the eve of Rath Yatra. Preparations are underway under the supervision of Iskcon Kolkata vice-president Radharamn Das. He said, "The ceremony will start at 9 am. The rituals will begin at 10.30 am and the bathing will take place at 11 am. If there is a large gathering, the temple doors will remain open for darshan even after the scheduled time," he said. — Suman Mandal
Time of India
09-06-2025
- General
- Time of India
Digha Jagannath temple rolls out prasad for 1.4 crore Bengal families
1 2 Kolkata: Three hundred kilograms of 'khoa,' a dry milk 'kheer' that is a key ingredient in sweets, was offered to Lord Jagannath at the temple in Digha before being dispatched to 23 districts in refrigerated vans on Monday. This was part of the state govt's initiative to distribute the 'mahaprasad' among all residents of the state. "By Tuesday, each district will receive 10kg of khoa. This will be divided so that each block gets an amount. This khoa will be mixed into more khoa at select local sweetshops to make peda that will then be distributed among people as mahaprasad by ration dealers," said Radharamn Das, the vice-president of Iskcon Kolkata, which is managing the temple operations. There are 341 blocks in the state. The packets — each containing a 'peda', a 'gaja', and a photograph of the Jagannath temple — will be handed to 1.4 crore families. The handover of 'mahaprasad' will begin on June 17 and be completed by June 27, the day of Rath Yatra. Around 10am on Monday, 300 kg of 'khoa' reached the Jagannath temple in Digha in a refrigerated van. There, it was received by around 60 'sadhus' chanting 'kirtans.' by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like I Tried the $0.87 Generic Viagra and Here's What Happened! fridayplans Learn More Undo Thirty local women, dressed in saris with a red border worn during puja, carried the 'khoa' to the temple sanctum sanctorum, where priests offered them as bhog to the deities of Jagannath, Balaram, and Subhadra. Of the 23 large packets marked with the names of districts, the one for East Midnapore was handed over to the DM for distribution among BDOs. The remaining 22 district packets, along with seven others, were loaded onto the refrigerated van and dispatched to Kolkata around 11.30am. "On the way, the packets will be distributed to the districts the van passes through: Hooghly and Howrah," said Das, reiterating that the initiative was taken byat the behest of the chief minister. Biswambhar Basu, general secretary of the All India Fair Price Shop Dealers' Federation, said Duare Ration would be used for prasad delivery from Monday to Friday. It will be available at ration shops during the weekend.
Time of India
01-06-2025
- Automotive
- Time of India
24km Rajarhat road test for Jagannath rath's Sukhoi tyres
1 2 3 Kolkata: The chariot used to carry Lord Jagannath during the Rath Yatra in Kolkata did a 24 km dry run on Saturday night, hours after its ageing Jumbo jet wheels of 1978 vintage were replaced with mint-fresh wheels used in Russian Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighter jets in the Indian Air Force. The four tyres cost Rs 1.8 lakh. "The chariot was hauled by a tow truck from its garage in Rajarhat to the Gurusaday Road. The journey was smooth. We expect the 7-km journey on the day of Rath Yatra and the return journey on Ulta Rath to be glitch-free," said Iskcon Kolkata vice-president Radharamn Das. This will be Iskcon Kolkata's 54th Rath Yatra. While the rath travelled at 8 kmph on Saturday, it usually crawls at 1.4 kmph during the Rath Yatra. The tyres are capable of doing 280 kmph, the speed of the take-off run on the tarmac before the Sukhoi jets become airborne. Officials of MRF Tyres, manufacturers of the tubeless tyres for the fighter jet, were taken aback when Iskcon first approached them for the Sukhoi tyres that appeared to be the closest fit to the Dunlop tyres for Boeing B-747 aircraft that were fitted when American engineer Garry William Roberts designed Iskcon Kolkata's chariot in 1977. "The only customers that the company had for these tyres was the Indian Air Force. They were so shocked when we requested to buy the four tyres that they sent their officials to look at the rath. They confirmed that the 4-ft diameter Sukhoi tyres are the closest match to the jumbo jet tyres that were in use. Iskcon is now the second customer for these tyres," said Das. Each Sukhoi tyre is capable of taking a load of 13 tonnes. Together, the four tyres can carry 52 tonnes. While the Sukhoi aircraft weighs 18.4 tonnes, the maximum weight of Jagannath's chariot along with the deity, priests, and disciples riding it will be 16 tonnes. The search for the tyres began two decades ago in 2005. Though Iskcon zeroed in on the Sukhoi tyres around 2018, the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and the urgent replacement required in the iron wheels of Balaram's rath caused the delay.
Time of India
31-05-2025
- Automotive
- Time of India
Lord Jagannath's Kolkata chariot to glide on Sukhoi tyres
KOLKATA: Lord Jagannath's chariot at Iskcon Rath Yatra in Kolkata this year will roll at a gentle pace of 1.4kmph on brand new tyres designed for a Russian Sukhoi fighter jet whose take-off run reaches a speed of 280kmph. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The new tyres were necessitated after the chariot encountered a steering snag last year. Acquisition of the Sukhoi tyres marks the culmination of a nearly two-decade quest for fresh tyres for the chariot. The ageing tyres, in use for over half a century, were from a Boeing B-747. Sourcing the "jumbo jet" tyres became a challenge after the aircraft was phased out. The Sukhoi's 4-ft diameter tyres were found to be the closest match to the jumbo jet tyres, which had the same 4-ft diameter and weighed 110kg each. While the B-747 tyres were manufactured by Dunlop, the Sukhoi tyres are manufactured by MRF, which supplies main wheel and nose wheel tyres for the Sukhoi Su-30MKI jets in India. These tyres undergo rigorous testing, including ground speed tests and load-capacity assessments. "When I contacted MRF requesting Sukhoi tyres for the chariot, they didn't believe us at first," said Radharamn Das, vice-president of Iskcon Kolkata. "They even sent senior officials to Kolkata to inspect the chariots. When they saw that the chariots were running on Boeing 747 jumbo jet tyres for the past 48 years and we explained that Sukhoi tyres were the closest match in size and durability, they agreed to sell them to us. " The new Sukhoi tyres will improve the chariot's manoeuvrability, safety and overall stability, especially on Kolkata's roads, many of which have tram tracks. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now They will also reduce strain of pulling on devotees and minimise the chances of technical failures during the Yatra starting June 27. The tyre-replacement work is currently underway and is expected to be completed by the second week of June, just ahead of Rath Yatra. The key challenge has been to ensure that the new wheels are safely and properly fitted without altering the traditional structure. "Minor structural modifications were needed, including adjustments to the wheel drums, base frame, and axle fittings to fit the Sukhoi tyres. However, the traditional wooden and iron superstructure of the chariot remains fully preserved," said Iskcon's Das. The chariot on which Lord Balaram or Baladev rides already sports new iron wheels.
