Vedanta Aluminium concludes Rath Yatra 2025 celebrations in Odisha, reaching out to 5 lakh devotees
9th July 2025
- The celebrations featured a mix of rituals and cultural performances across Odisha
Jharsuguda, Odisha, July 9th, 2025: Vedanta Aluminium, India’s largest producer of aluminium, observed Rath Yatra 2025 with a series of spiritual and cultural celebrations across Odisha that reached out to more than 5 lakh devotees. This reinforced the company’s commitment to honouring and celebrating the rich culture and heritage of the state, by taking an active role in observing key festivals and preserving traditional artforms. Several events were organised in Puri and at Vedanta’s townships at Jharsuguda and Lanjigarh.
At Puri, Vedanta Aluminium continued its annual tradition of service during the mega celebrations. The company deployed a 50-member volunteer team to set up an Arnna Chatra (community kitchen) near the Lord Jagannath Temple, providing hot and nutritious meals and water to over two lakh devotees. In addition, sandalwood and camphor-infused water helped keep the devotees comfortable and refreshed during their visit to the festival. The company concluded the celebrations by organising a Mahaprasad and Bhajan Sandhya during the Bahuda Yatra.
Continuing its years-long tradition, Vedanta Aluminium once again organised Rath Yatra celebrations within its employee townships in Jharsuguda – which features a large temple dedicated to Lord Jagannath, spanning a vast 19,500 square feet – and in Lanjigarh. In both places, hundreds of employees, family members and business partners gathered on the opening day of the festival to pull the chariots carrying the three deities built by traditional artisans from Puri.
Vedanta also hosted a series of competitions and cultural performance by residents and family members. In Jharsuguda, the cultural celebrations culminated in a night theatre performance on the theme ‘Devta ki Daya ka Rath Yatra’. Prizes were awarded for the various drawing, singing, waste-to-wealth sculpture and fancy-dress competitions themed on Rath Yatra, organised among the township residents during the week-long celebrations. The following day saw the Bahuda Yatra and Niladri Bije, marking the end of the festival this year. In addition, an Odissi dance competition was organised by the team at Lanjigarh.
Sharing his views, Rajiv Kumar, Chief Executive Officer, Vedanta Aluminium said: “At Vedanta Aluminium, we believe in nurturing the rich cultural fabric that binds our communities together. Our Rath Yatra celebrations and service initiatives reflect our deep-rooted reverence for celebrating and preserving Odia culture.”
Sunil Gupta, Chief Operating Officer, Vedanta Aluminium, added, “It is heartening to see our employees, families, and business partners come together in devotion and joy, celebrating Odisha’s heritage with such enthusiasm. Through our spiritual observances and festival support services, we are honoured to once again contribute meaningfully to this sacred festival.”
The Rath Yatra is among the most significant festivals in Odisha, drawing millions of devotees and visitors every year to the Lord Jagannath temple in Puri, where the three sibling deities, Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra are escorted in a grand procession to their maternal aunt’s abode. Reflecting the cultural importance of the festival, smaller recreations of this ritual are organised worldwide, as an occasion for joy and spiritual fervour.
Celebrating Odisha’s rich culture is also reflected in the developmental initiatives undertaken by Vedanta Aluminium. The company has undertaken several measures to preserve and promote traditional artforms such as Dhokra and Saura Art, and this year launched VedMurtika, an initiative to support the traditional craft of making terracotta sculptures.
About Vedanta Limited:
Vedanta Limited, a subsidiary of Vedanta Resources Limited, is one of the world’s leading Oil & Gas and Metals company with significant operations in Oil & Gas, Zinc, Lead, Silver, Copper, Iron Ore, Steel, and Aluminium & Power across India, South Africa and Namibia. For two decades, Vedanta has been contributing significantly to nation building. Governance and sustainable development are at the core of Vedanta's strategy, with a strong focus on health, safety, and environment. Vedanta has put in place a comprehensive framework to be the ESG leader in the natural resources sector. Vedanta is committed to reducing carbon emissions to zero by 2050 or sooner and has pledged $5 billion over the next 10 years to accelerate the transition to net zero operations. Giving back is in the DNA of Vedanta, which is focused on enhancing the lives of local communities. The company’s flagship social impact program, Nand Ghars, have been set up as model anganwadis focused on eradicating child malnutrition, providing education, healthcare, and empowering women with skill development. Under the aegis of the Anil Agarwal Foundation, the umbrella entity for Vedanta’s social initiatives, the Vedanta group has pledged Rs 5000 crore over the next five years on social impact programmes with a thrust on nutrition, women & child development, healthcare, animal welfare, and grass-root level sports. Vedanta and the group companies have been featured in Dow Jones Sustainability Index, and was conferred Frost & Sullivan Sustainability Awards 2020, Golden Peacock Award for excellence in Corporate Governance 2022 and certified as a Great Place to Work 2022. Vedanta Limited is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange.
For more information, please visit www.vedantalimited.com
About Vedanta Aluminium Business:
Vedanta Aluminium, a business of Vedanta Limited, is India’s largest producer of aluminium, manufacturing more than half of India’s aluminium i.e., 2.37 million tonnes in FY24. It is a leader in value-added aluminium products that find critical applications in core industries. Vedanta Aluminium ranks 1st in the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment 2023 world rankings for the aluminium industry, a reflection of its leading sustainable development practices. With its world-class aluminium smelters, alumina refinery and power plants in India, the company fulfils its mission of spurring emerging applications of aluminium as the ‘Metal of the Future’ for a greener tomorrow.
For more information, please log on to www.vedantaaluminium.com
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