Sambalpur, May 10: Union Minister and BJP Lok Sabha candidate from Sambalpur, Dharmendra Pradhan on Friday greeted the people on the auspicious occasion of Akshaya Tritiya, an agrarian festival widely celebrated across Odisha and many parts of the country.

On this occasion, the Union Minister performed ‘Akhi Muthi Anukula’, the ritual of sowing seeds in paddy fields after ploughing, along with farmers at Sapalhara village near Hirakud in Odisha's Sambalpur district.

As per rituals, Pradhan along with local farmers wearing new clothes carried a decorated basket of seeds to the paddy field and offered them to Goddess Lakshmi, praying for a rich harvest season.

Akshay Tritiya is an auspicious festival of Hindus celebrated annually on the third lunar day of the month of Vaishakha.

Considered highly significant in Shree Jagannath culture, Akshaya Tritiya also heralds the beginning of the construction of chariots for the annual Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath and his siblings.

The festival also marks the beginning of the ‘Chandan Jatra’ of deities at several shrines in Odisha. The famous 'Thalutha' ritual of Sitalsasthi festival is also celebrated today.

Akshaya Tritiya is also observed as the State-Level Farmers’ Day in Odisha. 

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