Jagannath Rath Yatra 2021: No Devotees For Second Year In A Row, 48-Hour Curfew In Puri Ahead Of Yatra

The Jagannath Temple administration on July 9 said 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 Ajaya Jena, the Administrator of Puri Jagannath Temple, 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) &  around 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. Watch the video to know more.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 12, 2021 01:32 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).