One Servitor Tests COVID-19 Positive, Shifted To Hosp Before Rath Yatra Rituals

Puri: The Pahandi ritual began around 7.15 am and Lord Jagannath soon steeped out of Puri Srimandir to give darshan to his millions of devotees, who watched the live telecast in the confines of their home with the Pilgrim Town under shutdown for the mega festival.

Adhering to the Supreme Court directive, 1143 servitors were also put to COVID-19 test on Monday. “Except one, all were found to be negative. The confirmed case was shifted to COVID Hospital before Rath Yatra rituals. Contact tracing is being done and the area has been contained,” the district administration tweeted.

Chief Administrator of Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) Krishan Kumar had informed media about a team from the Health Department conducting COVID-19 tests of the remaining 25 per cent of the servitors. The other had undergone the test earlier and the results were found to be negative.

“The 1500 people to be engaged for pulling of the three chariots have been identified as per the apex court’s directive. Almost 75 per cent of the COVID-19 test was completed earlier. A team from the Health Department is here and they are conducting the tests for the rest of the servitors. The results will be out by tomorrow morning,” he said.

As a precautionary measure, all sevayats will wear masks during the festival. “During Pahandi of the Lords, they will be asked to wrap their gamcha around their mouth. We hope to conduct the festival smoothly following all the guidelines,” he said.