Kolkata:
The novel coronavirus outbreak has cast a shadow on ISKCON’s Rathyatra festival in the city that attracts more than 10 lakh devotees every year, a spokesperson of the organisation said on Sunday.
With a week left for Akshay Tritiya, the auspicious day when construction of the three chariots pulled during the Rathyatra begins, the ISKCON-Kolkata centre is bracing for “scaling down or cancellation” of the nine-day festival scheduled to begin on June 23.
“There are 50-50 chances for cancellation of the festival. Even if it takes place, it will be a scaled-down event. If the lockdown is further extended beyond May 3, organising the festival will be difficult.
“If we see that the disease continues to spread, we will ourselves cancel the Rathyatra,” ISKCON-Kolkata Centre vice president and spokesperson Radharaman Das told PTI.
The Kolkata Rathyatra of ISKCON is organised in coordination with the state government. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had flagged off the festival last year.
The chariots traverse through important landmarks of the city along an eight-km route starting from ISKCON temple near Minto Park.
The procession culminates at the Brigade Parade Grounds in central Kolkata, where the chariots are kept for nine days and devotees and visitors congregate at a fair organised on the occasion.
Last year, the ISKCON-Kolkata Rathyatra had witnessed a total gathering of around 15 lakh people across nine days, Das said.
“Around 2.5 to 3 lakh devotees congregate during the pulling of the chariots. But the situation is different now,” he said.
Das said for organising the festival, they have to get permission from the state government, the Centre and the Defence, which owns the Brigade Parade Grounds.
“Normally, we get the permissions by this time of the year but things have got delayed because of the lockdown,” he said.
The ISKCON authorities in the city are in touch with the servitors of the Jagannath Temple in Puri, where too, the situation appears grim, Das said.
“Uncertainty grapples even the Puri festival. There is no preparation now. We will take a call after May 3,” he said.
Under the worst circumstances, the authorities might themselves carry the three deities along the route without public participation and bring them back on Bahuda Rath on July 1, Das said.
“We do not want to risk the lives of other people. We will follow whatever the state government and the Centre advice us,” he added.
