Rath Yatra begins in Ahmedabad and Odhisha amidst Covid curfew

Puri Odhisha: A negative RT-PCR Covid test must if a devotee wants to participate in the procession.

The 144th Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra begins in Ahmedabad under special guidelines to prevent the danger of Covid. No people will be involved in the procession. Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and his deputy Nitin Patel who visted the Jagannath temple for Aarti ahead of the yatra, have appealed to people to watch the proceedings on their televsion. The 19km procession will be covered with 5 vehicles, including 3 chariots.

A statement from Rupani's office read that “The Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra holds importance not just in Gujarat but in the entire country. Lord Jagannath is the god of people and every year he travels among the people on the occasion of Ashadhi Beej Diwas of Gujarati calendar. The government has kept in consideration the belief of people and allowed the yatra to commence with Covid guidelines in place so it’s also important that people cooperate."

Apart from no public participation, the rath yatra would be a shorter affair in terms of duration as the authorities plan to conclude it within four to five hours as against the usual time of 12 hours. although the procession would cover the entire 19-km route as earlier, they said.

The state administration and temple authorities have made all the arrangements for the Rath yatra without public participation and any fanfare in consultation with Jagannath temple priest Dilip Dasji Maharaj and trustee Mahendra Jha.

In Puri Odhisha, Jagannath Rath Yatra has been organised keeping Covid safety norms in mind. A negative RT-PCR Covid test is important if a devotee wants to participate in the procession. A total of 65 platoons of police personnel have been deployed across the city to ensure security. Two day curfew has been declared as a crowd control measure.

Moreover, the Archaeological Survey Of India has proposed to do a lazer scan of Jagannath temple in Puri ahead of Rath yatra and carry out repair work.

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