[Watch] Kartika Purnima: Devotees Throw COVID Caution To Wind, Celebrate Odisha’s Maritime Glory At Ghats

Bhubaneswar: The restrictions imposed on visiting water bodies to sail boats on the occasion of ‘Boita Bandana’ were thrown to the wind on Friday with people thronging river ghats in large numbers to offer puja to mark the culmination of Odia calendar month of Kartika.

People in the twin cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack visited Kuakhai river ghat in the wee hours of Friday to offer prayers and sail handmade boats with lamps and crackers. “It is essential to sail boats  with lights, supari and jaggery besides other puja items to mark the culmination of month-long fasting for us, we came to Kuakhai ghat and sailed our miniature boats,” said Lily Swain.

Another devotee Shashank Swara said “Since my childhood this I have seen our grandparents and other elders of the family follow the Boita Bandana. We are also making our own efforts to keep tradition alive and are here at Kuakhai to offer prayers.

Young and enthusiastic Jajati Sahoo said he sailed boats at three places with family and friends.

However, Bindusagar near Lingaraj Temple in the city wore a deserted look as the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation had banned congregation at the ghats to check the spread of COVID-19. Adequate security arrangements were made to stop the crowds from entering the ghats, said sources in BMC.

Cuttack Municipal Corporation too had imposed a ban on sailing handmade boats and congregations at rivers and other water bodies but people had their own way and celebrated the festival at the ghats of Kathajodi and Mahanadi.

Also Read: Odisha Govt Prohibits Kartik Purnima Celebration At Water Bodies

Similar celebrations were reported in other parts of the state. In Puri, devotees offered prayers from the Simhadwara of the Jagannath temple and while some others sailed boats and took a holy dip n the sea.

The restrictions were strictly in place in Ganjam district where entry to the beaches of Gopalpur, Aryapali and Sunapur were out of bounds for tourists till 2 pm.

Boita Bandana: Devotees sail handmade boats on the occasion of Kartik Purnima to remember the past maritime glory of Odisha. On this day Odia sailors used to embark on sea voyages to foreign shores of countries like SriLanka, Indonesia, Java, Sumatra, Thailand &  Maldives.