Adani Group's Seva at Puri Rath Yatra

Puri, Jun 26 (PTI) Following its extensive, mostly volunteer-driven initiative to feed the masses during the Maha Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj earlier this year, the Adani Group has now shifted its focus to another of India's most revered religious festivals - the Rath Yatra in Puri, Odisha.

Held annually at the Lord Jagannath Temple in Puri, the nine-day chariot procession draws millions of pilgrims from across the country and beyond.

In keeping with chairman Gautam Adani's belief that 'Seva Hi Sadhana Hai' (Service is Worship), the Adani Group is undertaking a comprehensive seva effort to support both pilgrims and frontline officials during the Rath Yatra from June 26 to July 8, sources said.

This year's support includes nearly 4 million meals and drinks distributed free of cost; designated food counters providing free, nutritious meals to pilgrims and officials; beverage counters across the city offering cool drinks to beat the Odisha heat; support for lifeguards from the Puri Beach Lifeguard Mahasangha; volunteers for beach clean-up, especially plastic waste; free T-shirts for official volunteers; fluorescent safety vests for municipal workers; and also a variety of jackets, raincoats, caps and umbrellas for officials and devotees.

This is through collaboration between the Adani Group, the Puri district administration, ISKCON and local volunteer organisations.

The group, which has been working in Odisha through the Adani Foundation across sectors, such as rural healthcare, school infrastructure and livelihoods, sees this seva as part of a larger spiritual continuity in India's public life, sources said.

For the Adani Group, corporate social responsibility has always extended beyond infrastructure, education and healthcare. Increasingly, it includes direct and active participation in India's spiritual and cultural life - not as a sponsor, but as sevak.

Earlier this year, during the 45-day Maha Kumbh Mela, the Adani Group had supported food distribution and pilgrim welfare services on a massive scale in collaboration with ISKCON and Gita Press. On January 21, chairman Gautam Adani personally took part in seva at the Kumbh, underscoring the Group's message that social service is not a sideline activity but a central value.

If the Maha Kumbh was about scale, the Rath Yatra is about intimacy, sources said.

While the numbers in Puri may be smaller, the energy is no less intense and the logistical complexity immense.

Through its Rath Yatra involvement, the Adani Group is not just offering services - it is reinforcing a view of development that is grounded in Indian culture, community and compassion.

Sources said much of the planning is done with on-ground partners months in advance, the volunteers are from within the group or local communities, and the execution is often led by Adani coordinators, who have long-standing relationships in the region.