Venkaiah Naidu, Chhattisgarh CM extend wishes to people on 'Nuakhai Juhar'

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday extended wishes to the countrymen on the occasion of 'Nuakhai Juhar', which is one of the most ancient festivals celebrated in Odisha, Chhattisgarh and areas of neighbouring states to welcome the new crop of the season.

"Nuakhai Juhar! An ancient festival for the worship of foodgrain, Nuakhai celebrates our farmers' hard labour and their joy of new harvest season. It reflects man's close relationship with nature. May this festival bring peace, prosperity and happiness in everyone's lives," Naidu tweeted.

Meanwhile, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel also took to Twitter to wish the people on the occasion.

"Many congratulations and best wishes of the Nuakhai/Nawakhai festival to all the people and especially the Utkal Samaj. This festival symbolises the arrival of new crops, the worship of the Earth and God, and the brotherhood and unity of the farming community. You should celebrate this festival carefully keeping all the COVID-19 precautions on mind," he tweeted in Hindi.

Nuakhai Juhar is the agricultural festival is also called Nuakhai Parab or Nuakahi Bhetghat.Nuakhai is a combination of two words signifies eating of new rice as 'nua' means new and 'khai' means eat.On this day, people worship food grain and prepare special meals. Farmers offer the first produce from their lands to Goddess Samaleswari, the famous 'Mother Goddess' of Sambalpur district of Odisha.Moreover, locals also orgse several cultural programmes - folk songs and dances in their respective districts on this day to display the state's local culture and tradition. However, this year, people will celebrate the festival while staying indoors due to COVID-19 outbreak.

( With inputs from ANI )