On the night May 31, the chariot of Lord Jagannath rolled on the streets of Kolkata with tyres of Sukhoi fighter jets. The 24 km dry run was to ascertain whether the four tyres that are fixed to usually Sukhoi fighter jets were fitted properly to the wooden chariot of the Lord Jagannath.

ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness) Kolkata, which has been organizing annual Rath Yatra for the past five decades have been looking to replace the Boeing tyres fitted to the chariot of Lord Jagnnath for the past few years. Radharaman Das, the Vice President of ISKCON Kolkata said that when he approached the tyre maker MRF they were shocked at the request of Sukhoi aircraft tyres for chariot of Lord Jagannath.

"For the last 48 years the chariot of Lord Jagnnath has been working on Boeing tyres, for the last 20 years we have been looking for a replacement. MRF finally called us in December 2024, they were also shocked because they only have only one client the Indian Air Force. The ageing tyres of Boeing 747 had been serving the chariot for over 50 years but last year the organizers of the Rath Yatra faced significant challenges including axel issues". In 1972 we started the first Kolkata Rath Yatra. In 1977 an American disciple got this new chariot made for Lord Jagannath.

The four tyres, each of which can withstand a load of 16 tonnes have come at a cost of Rs. 1.72 lakh. The installation of Sukhoi tyres took about 20 to 25 days, which required minor structural changes keeping the traditional wooden and iron structures intact and a dry run was held recently. On July 27, 2025 when thousands of devotees will participate in the annual Rath Yatra of ISKCON in Kolkata, and pull the ropes of chariot of Lord Jagannath, it will gently roll the tyres of Sukhoi jets which are meant to pierce the skies at supersonic speed.