Bhubaneswar: Authorities in Rajasthan have stopped a Rath Yatra proposed to be held in Sikar on Friday after Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) objected to the observance of the festival by deviating from the festival calendar of Puri.
Sources said Sikar District Magistrate Ashish Modi issued direction for stopping the Rath Yatra, acting on a letter sent by Puri Collector and Deputy Chief Administrator of SJTA, Dibyajyoti Parida,
The proposed Rath Yatra was slated to be organised by Biswa Sanatan Dharma Seva Sansthan and Shri Khatu Shyam Mandal.
The SJTA informed the Sikar authorities that the proposed event was not in accordance with the almanac and the traditions associated with the sacred festival. It requested the administration in Rajasthan’s Sikar to ensure that the festival was not held on an untimely date.
Following the communication, the Sikar District Magistrate instructed the Superintendent of Police to take necessary steps in this regard. The local tehsildar also appealed to the organisers to refrain from conducting the festival on the scheduled date, which was not in alignment with the traditional Hindu calendar.
The SJTA of Puri had earlier urged the organisers to celebrate the Rath Yatra only according to the prescribed date.
