Manipur: Kang festival begins with low key affair

IMPHAL — The first day of the nine day-long celebration of Kang (Rath Jatra) festival began in Imphal on Tuesday with a very low key affair without pulling of Kang, the traditional chariot, in view of the prevailing situation.

The first day of the festival was also marked by devotees praying to restore peace and normalcy in Manipur.

G Damarupati Sharma, a functionary of the Shri Shri Govindajee temple board in Imphal speaking to media said that they could not perform the festival in full swing in view of the ongoing crisis unlike the previous years.

The main events of the festival include the pulling of Kang, the traditional chariot and offering of flowers and fruits to Shree Shree Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra. But unlike past years, this time the festival, which will conclude on June 28, is likely to witness a different experience in view of the existing crisis in the state.

Manipur had been witnessing ethnic violence in the first week of May, in which around 100 people were killed and nearly 50,000 people were displaced besides burning many villages.