Bhubaneswar: In view of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Odisha government has banned Rath Yatra celebrations at all places in the state except Puri.
Making this announcement on Thursday, Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) Pradeep Jena said that the festival will be held without the participation of devotees at Jagannath Temple in Puri.
“The Supreme Court’s guidelines on conducting the annual festival of Lord Jagannath will be followed. The restrictions imposed during the last year’s Rath Yatra will remain in force this year. Only selected COVID negative and fully vaccinated servitors will take part,” he said.
During Rath Yatra, curfew will be clamped in Puri. Live telecast feed of the festival will be supplied to media outlets, he added.
The SRC further said that other temples can only observe the rituals.
