Bhubaneswar, September 15: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday extended greetings on the auspicious occasion of Nuakhai.

Modi said that Nuakhai is a festival that celebrates our farmers, the harvest and the spirit of togetherness.

The Prime Minister wished that the special occasion further strengthens the spirit of harmony and togetherness in society.

Taking to ‘X’, Modi said, “Nuakhai Juhar! Warm greetings on Nuakhai, a festival that celebrates our farmers, the harvest and the spirit of togetherness. May this special occasion strengthen bonds of harmony and bring happiness and prosperity in our society.”

Today, people of western Odisha were celebrating Nuakhai, a major agrarian festival, with families offering the Nabanna (newly harvested rice) of the season to presiding deities and seeking blessings from elders.

The festival, which is predominantly observed in western Odisha districts, including Sambalpur, Baragada, Jharsuguda, Balangir, Kalahandi, Nuapada, Nabarangpur, Debagarh and Sundargada districts, was also celebrated in parts of Boudh and Anugola.

As part of the celebrations, homes were decorated with traditional jhotis in the morning of the Nuakhai, while women prepared delicacies from the new harvest. In the evening, cultural programmes and Nuakhai Bhet-Ghat events were organised, where people exchange greetings with the customary “Nuakhai Juhar”.

People living in different parts of the state and country returned to their native places to celebrate the festival with their families.

In Sambalpur, the season’s first grains were offered to Maa Samaleswari, the region’s presiding deity, during the stipulated lagna (time) fixed earlier. The goddess was adorned with new attire and ornaments, and Nabanna was subsequently offered to all deities within the temple premises.

Earlier today, President Droupadi Murmu, who hails from Odisha, Governor Hari Babu Kambhampati, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and Leader of Opposition Naveen Patnaik also extended greetings to the people on the occasion.