Devotee travels about 246km to contribute 3,003 lotuses & ‘sacred water’ for rituals

Digha: A devotee of Lord Jagannath carried 3,003 lotuses and sacred water from the spring of Susunia Hills in Bankura to the Jagannath Temple at Digha for use in the worship of the deity.

Bankim Mishra, president of the Trinamool Congress-led Panchayat Samiti of Chhatna in Bankura started his journey at around 10.30 am and travelled 246-odd kilometres in his car for nearly six hours to reach Digha with the lotuses and the water. “Lotus flower is customary in the worship of Narayan. Lord Jagannath is an avatar of Narayan. I wanted to be a part of the inauguration of the temple and contribute something to the puja rituals that will be performed on Tuesday and Wednesday prior to the official opening of the temple door.

I have handed over 3003 lotus flowers and sacred water from the spring of Susunia Hills to the priests performing the rituals. There is no specific number requirement of lotus but I have carried as much as I could,” said Mishra.

He claimed that the priests thanked him for the lotuses which otherwise had to be bought from the market. There are both white and red colour lotuses brought by Mishra.

“We are indebted to the Didi (Mamata Banerjee) for the construction of Jagannath Temple in Digha. People from Bengal can now travel to Digha for the worship of Lord Jagannath instead of having to go to Puri in Odisha,” he added.

Mishra will be staying back at Digha till Wednesday for the temple inauguration by the Chief Minister.