Thousands celebrate deity's river journey

Thousands of devotees thronged the Kantajew Temple in Kaharol upazila of the district yesterday to mark the river journey of Lord Kantajew.

The devotees gathered on both sides of the 40km long Dhepa River and offered prayers as the idol made its way by river from the temple at Kantanagar to the historic Dinajpur Rajbari temple.

As per tradition, the idol of Lord Kantajew (Krishna) was placed on a decorative boat on the bank of Dhepa River at Kantanagar village under tight security around 9:00am.

After arriving at Sadhurghat along the Punarbhaba River in Dinajpur town the idol would be taken to Dinajpur Rajbari, nearly 5km away from the river bank, said Premnath Roy, one of the organisers.

In addition, the devotees who came from different parts of the country offered prayers, food, fruits and milk to the deity.

Amalendu Bhowmik, trusty of the temple, said as part of the 350-year-old traditional religious festival of the Hindu community, the idol is brought to Dinajpur Rajbari Temple a day before the Janmashtami celebrations.