The Covid-19 lockdown had brought the world to a standstill from March this year. Businesses, offices, educational institutions, industries and transportation, among others, were closed for months together. While a few industries and sectors are returning to normality, many are yet to restart and recover. Here’s how pandemic impacted various sectors in the state in the year gone by.
TEMPLES REOPEN IN PHASES
The Shri Jagannath Temple in Puri reopened after nine months on December 23, but only for devotees from the district. The Lingaraj temple in Bhubaneswar also reopened on December 27 for priests only. Both temples will open for all devotees from January 3. No major religious activities were allowed in the state from March. Churches had to seek special permission to hold Christmas prayers.
Non-living temples like the Konark Sun Temple, where no puja is performed, were reopened for tourists from September 1. The annual Konark Dance Festival was also held in the temple complex in the frst week of December.
RATH YATRA HELD WITHOUT DEVOTEES
The annual Rath Yatra was held without devotees after maybe centuries. The Supreme Court had earlier instructed the state government to avoid the festival altogether, but gave permission later. Only chosen temple servitors, management committee members and security forces were allowed.
BLUE FLAG TAG FOR GOLDEN BEACH
The Golden Beach in Puri was accorded the Blue Flag tag in October this year.
It is now among eight Indian beaches to get prestigious Blue Flag certification from the Copenhagen-based Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE).
CINEMA HALLS REMAIN CLOSED
According to the latest government notification, cinema halls in the state will stay closed till December 31. This has not only hit exhibitors but also the Odia film industry hard, as no new films have released in the intervening period.