Bhubaneswar, Apr 5: The Rukuna Rath of Lord Lingaraj stopped midway to aunt's house, Rameshwar Temple.

The chariot, pulled by thousands of devotees, stopped near Kapali Mutt.

The chariot will be pulled from 2 PM tomorrow. Due to the delay in ritual, the chariot pulling started at 5.23 pm and stopped at 6. 30 pm. A large number of devotees from different parts of the country gathered to witness the holy event. Devotees were very happy to see the Lord in the Rukuna chariot.

On this occasion, a festival, named Lingaraj Mahotsav, was organized by Ekamra Cultural Publication near the temple. The festival will continue for the next six days. Cultural programmes will be held every day. Thirty-six groups and more than 800 artists from 11 states will present cultural programmes.

Former BJP state president Samir Mohanty, Minister Suryavanshi Suraj, MLA Babu Singh, and senior leaders Suresh Kumar Routray and Jagannath Pradhan were present at the inauguration ceremony on Saturday.

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