SILCHAR, July 19 - All roads in Silchar got drowned in festivities on Saturday as it witnessed the Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath and Idd-ul-Fitre. Muslims from all walks of life were seen in beautiful new clothes, visiting the mosques to attend Idd prayers and exchanging greetings with fellow Muslims.
The main Idd namaz held at Itkhola Idgah Maidan at 8:30 am was conducted by Imam Maulana Shabbir Ahmed Laskar of Silchar Bara Masjid. Moulana Nurul Haque Talukdar, principal, Silchar Alia Madrasa, conducted the Idd prayers at Tikarbasti Idgah. The mosques were illuminated with LED lights in the evening.
Meanwhile, alongside men, many Muslim women offered namaz at Idgah in Kazidahar and Arkatipur in Cachar district. Also, like yesteryear, a meeting of all religions was organised at Silchar Idgah.
On the other hand, as the day progressed, thousands of devotees converged in the town as the Rath Yatra began with great fanfare.
The chariot of Lord Jagannath, his brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra rolled out of the ISKCON Temple here after Cachar Deputy Commissioner S Vishwanathan along with Silchar Municipal Board chairman Niharendra Narayan Thakur, ADC MK Das, local MP Susmita Dev and BJP general secretary Dr Rajdip Roy performed the symbolic cleaning of roads before the yatra.
Another brightly decorated chariot was also brought out from Radha Madhav temple, one of the oldest temples of the town. Kids and youngsters were seen buying traditional clay idols on the occasion.
The district administration made strict security arrangements to avert any untoward incident during the festivals. Tight security was maintained throughout the day in the district headquarters town.
