The other side: Livelihoods hit for local craftsmen in Odhisha village as Rath Yatra is cancelled for a second time.

It is mandatory to ensure Covid norms and avoid mass congregation in religious ceremonies, often resulting in "super spreader" events. However, how does one ignore the sharp slump in the small scale puppet industry of Baladevjew temple in Odhisha.

With pandemic taking a toll on their business, around 200 puppeteers of Mantripada and Palakana villages now stare at a bleak future. Livelihood of hundreds of crafts persons has been hit due to cancellation of Rath Yatra in Baladevjew temple due to Covid for the second time in a row.

Mantripada is famous for Glove puppetry (Sakhi Kandhei) while Palakana is renowned for string puppetry (Suta Kandhei). During the nine-day long Rath Yatra, the crafts persons made huge profits by organizing puppet shows as devotees thronging Tulasi Khetra watched their puppetry by purchasing tickets.

Fakir Singh, a noted puppeteer of Palakana village said, “Six months back, we were beginning to revive our business, but the second wave coupled with cancellation of Rath Yatra and other festivals has forced us to hang our strings.”

Similarly, artisans of Icchapur village involved in making wood and clay crafts have also been affected by the Rath Yatra ban. Every year during the car festival, a large number of devotees purchased wooden and clay images of the Trinity. But the cancellation of Rath Yatra has spelt doom for the business of these artisans.

Amid the pandemic, the Supreme Court’s ruling mentions that Jagannath Rath Yatra 2021 will take place exclusively in Puri and not the entire state of Odisha.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Sunday released the Rath Yatra special issues of the State government’s monthly magazines Utkal Prasanga and Odisha Review. Both the magazines contain well-researched articles on the car festival.