Bhubaneswar, Sep 8: People of Odisha, mostly western and some southern parts of the State, are celebrating 'Nauakhai' festival, an agricultural festival that marks the beginning of new rice season, today with traditional pomp and gaiety.

The festival is observed on Panchami tithi (the fifth day) in the lunar fortnight of Bhadrapada or Bhaadra (August-September), the day after the Ganesh Chaturthi festival.

This year, the Nuakhai festival celebrations began with 'Nabanna' or new crop offering to Goddess Samaleswari in Sambalpur between 9 AM and 9.27 AM and 9.35 AM to 10 AM in Balangir district.

Nua means New and Khai means food so the newly harvested food is offered to the village Goddess by the people of Western Odisha.

After offering Nabanna to the Goddess, the food is distributed among people and they consume it together. After completing all the rituals, people prepare delicious food and celebrate this festival with great pomp and show.

On the day, each and every member of the family wear new dress and they greet each other, show affection and take blessings from the elderly members of the family. This ritual is popularly known as 'Nuakhai Juhar'.

People staying outside visit their houses during the festival. An ambience of religious fervour is marked everywhere in western Odisha during the festival.

Odisha CM Mohan Charan Majhi, Union Education Minister and Sambalpur MP, Dharmendra Pradhan and other dignitaries extended greetings to the people of Western Odisha and wished Nuakhai – the unique festival of love, devotion and harmony to bring happiness, peace and prosperity to all.

Marking the occasion, CM Majhi will launch the CM Kisan Yojana from Sambalpur today.

The landless farmers who were not covered under PM Kisan Yojana will get the benefit of CM Kisan scheme. Around Rs 4,000 will be given to farmers as assistance in two phases. In the first phase, i.e., on Nuakhai, the farmers will get Rs 2000, and on Akshaya Tritiya, they will receive the remaining half, officials said.

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