Puri: Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingha Deb will not conduct the Chhera Panhara rituals of Lord Jagannath and his two siblings on Snana Mandap during Snana Yatra this year in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In his absence, his representative will conduct the rituals, said the secretary to the Gajapati in a release here.
It may be recalled that the Gajapati Maharaja had skipped Chhera Panhara rituals of the Lords last year due to the pandemic situation.
As per the tradition, he conducts the Chhera Panhara rituals after the pahandi (procession) of the Lords and their ceremonial bath at the Snana Mandap.
Meanwhile, preparations have begun for the pahandi of the Lords which will begin at 1 am on Thursday.
Briefing the media, Puri Collector Samarth Verma said that efforts are on to conduct the rituals in time to ensure Jalalagi niti of the Lords at Snana Mandap from 7 am on Thursday.
He said that about 90 per cent of the sevayats in charge of the rituals have tested negative after the RT-PCR test while others are being administered the second dose of vaccine.
The collector informed that the temple administration has provided passes to Palia sevayats for Snana Yatra and these will remain valid for one day. The district administration will provide new passes to them for Rath Yatra on July 12, he added.
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