Puri, July 12 -- Sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik has expressed concern over ISKCON's decision to hold Rath Yatra celebrations in Kenya before the annual Jagannath Rath Yatra in Puri, saying the practice hurts the religious sentiments of devotees.

Reacting to ISKCON organising a Rath Yatra in Kenya before the one in Puri, Pattnaik described the development as "sad" and said it had dealt a "huge blow" to the sentiments of Jagannath devotees.

While speaking to ANI, Pattnaik said, "It is sad that many countries already hold Rath Yatras before the Puri Rath Yatra. This is a huge blow, hurting our religious sentiments. Therefore, the Sri Mandir administration called ISKCON representatives for a discussion."

"ISKCON was informed of all the fact...