The Jagannath Temple administration on July 9 informed that like the previous year, this year's Rath Yatra festival would be organised without the participation of devotees. There would be strict adherence to safety protocols to contain the spread of coronavirus, reported ANI. As per the Administrator of Puri Jagannath Temple, Ajaya Jena, the servitors testing negative for Covid-19 would be allowed to participate in the pulling of the chariots. As per the Administrator, three thousand 'sevayat' (servitors) & 1000 temple officials will be allowed to perform all rituals and RTPCR tests are going on at four places at Puri since July 8. Rath Yatra is a festival associated with Lord Jagannath held at Puri annually in the state of Odisha. Earlier on July 6, the Supreme Court rejected a batch of petitions seeking direction to conduct Rath Yatra across Odisha and not only in Puri Jagannath temple, as permitted by the Odisha State Government in its order earlier. Meanwhile, Puri in Odisha has gone under a 48-hour curfew from July 11, ahead of the Rath Yatra on July 12. According to the district administration's order, the restrictions will remain in place from 8 pm on July 11 to 8 pm on July 13. The Odisha government has sealed all entry points to Puri and restrictions have been imposed to keep devotees at bay in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Watch the video to know more.
