A KALASH containing sacred soil from Varanasi reached Raipur on Friday as a part of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s ‘Samrasta Sankalp Abhiyan’ being organised to mark the 650th birth anniversary of Sant Shiromani Ravidas. The Kalash was ceremonially welcomed in State Capital before being installed at Shri Ram Mandir following special prayers and Vedic rituals in the presence of seers, saints and senior BJP leaders. The procession carrying the sacred Kalash received a grand welcome in Ambikapur and passing through Bilaspur, where people greeted the yatra at various locations. On reaching Raipur, the procession first arrived at Banjari Mata Temple before passing through prominent city routes and culminating at Shri Ram Mandir. At the temple, the Kalash containing the sacred soil from Varanasi was installed through traditional religious rituals accompanied by Vedic chants. A large number of saints, seers, BJP leaders, party workers and devotees participated in the ceremony. A state-level Kalash distribution programme has been scheduled for August 4 at Pt.

 

Deendayal Upadhyay Auditorium in Raipur. Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai, seers and saints from across the state and representatives of various social communities are expected to participate in the event. During the programme, sacred Kalash will be handed over to district presidents representing 36 organizational units of the BJP. These Kalash will subsequently be taken to villages across the state’s 479 party mandals, where devotees and local residents will have an opportunity to offer prayers and participate in programmes commemorating Sant Ravidas’ birth anniversary. Several senior BJP leaders were present during the installation ceremony at Shri Ram Mandir, including Deputy Chief Minister Arun Sao, ministers Ramvichar Netam, Shyambihari Jaiswal, Tank Ram Verma and Guru Khushwant Saheb, along with MLAs Rajesh Munat, Purandar Mishra, Sunil Soni and Motilal Sahu. BJP State General Secretaries Yashwant Jain and Dr Naveen Markandey, State Vice-President Nandan Jain, State Treasurer Ram Garg, co-convenors of the Samrasta Sankalp Abhiyan and numerous party office-bearers, saints, seers and citizens also attended the ceremony