Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government announced on Thursday that the annual Rath Yatra dedicated to Lord Jagannath will be held this year in Odisha’s Puri while following the COVID-19 guidelines of the Supreme Court issued last year. However, the Puri Rath Yatra 2021 will be held without the participation of devotees from the public.
Odisha Special Relief Commissioner Pradeep K Jena confirmed that the annual journey of the three deities — Lord Jagannath, his brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra, will be held. However, only those servitors who have a COVID-19 negative report or are fully vaccinated will be allowed to take part in the Yatra.
According to the guidelines issued by the Supreme Court for the Rath Yatra, no more than 500 people will be allowed to pull the chariots. The chariot pullers will have to undergo a COVID test prior to the beginning of the festival. The group of 500 people includes temple servitors and police personnel.
At all other Lord Jagannath shrines across Odisha, only rituals will be conducted within the premises of the temples and the public will not be allowed to participate.
A curfew will also be imposed in Puri for the festival and only essential and emergency services will be allowed. Further, the vehicular movement to and from Puri will be restricted during Rath Yatra.