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Annapurna Devi idol receives warm welcome as it passes through Lucknow
The Annapurna Devi idol is to be installed at the Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi on November 15. It was brought back from Canada recently.
The Annapurna Devi idol, which was brought back from Canada recently, received a warm welcome with priests chanting hymns and showering petals in Lucknow on Saturday.
The Annapurna Devi idol is to be installed at the Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi on November 15.
On Thursday (November 11), the Union ministry of culture had handed over the idol of the goddess to Uttar Pradesh (UP) minister Suresh Rana at a ceremony held at New Delhi’s National Gallery of Modern Art.
Several ministers of the Yogi Adityanath government became part of the yatra. Law minister Brajesh Pathak travelled with the Annapurna Devi idol from Kanpur till Lucknow.
At Sarojininagar in Lucknow, local BJP MLA and UP minister Swati Singh became part of the procession after the idol received a warm welcome. Another senior minister Ashutosh Tandon became part of the yatra at Hazratganj.
“Law minister Brajesh Pathak accompanied the yatra’s Lucknow leg and was also seen distributing prasad,” said Lucknow BJP leader Praveen Garg.
“Lucknow mayor Sanyukta Bhatia was seen with the procession and the flower bedecked vehicle on which the 18th century beautifully carved idol of the goddess, measuring 17x9x4 cm, was placed,” Garg said. Near the BJP headquarters in Lucknow, UP BJP general secretary (organization) Sunil Bansal, along with general secretary Govind Narayan Shukla, lawmaker Neeraj Bora and several others welcomed the yatra. The procession passed through 1090 crossing, Samta Mulak Chauraha and Lohia crossing before reaching the polytechnic crossing.
The BJP leaders said that the Annapurna Devi idol will now be placed in Varanasi, the spot from where it had been stolen about 100 years ago.
“Ever since Modiji has become Prime Minister, the country’s treasure that was stolen away, is now coming back. Like the idol of the goddess, the antiquities of other states would be similarly handed over to the respective state governments,” the BJP leaders said.
From Delhi, the yatra headed to Aligarh on November 11, from where it travelled to Kannauj on November 12. After Lucknow, it would move to Ayodhya. It will finally reach Varanasi on November 15 and would be placed at the Kashi Vishwanath temple after elaborate rituals.
