A day before the annual Rath Yatra, decorated chariots of Lord Balabhadra, Lord Jagannath and Devi Subhadra were positioned in ‘Bada Danda’ (Grand Road) in front of the 12th century Shree Jagannath Temple at Puri on Sunday.
Colourful chariots — Taladhwaja of Lord Balabhadra, Nandighosa of Lord Jagannath and Debadalana of Devi Subhadra — were pulled by ‘sevayats’ (traditional priests of temple).
In view of the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic, this is the second successive year when the world famous Rath Yatra is being conducted without devotees.
To prevent any devotees from entering the Grand Road, police blocked every lane and by-lane leading to the venue. Curfew has also been imposed in Puri from Sunday to Tuesday.
People were advised to keep the essential goods as all shops will remain closed till Tuesday.
Though no devotee is allowed to participate in the grand event, as many as 65 platoons led by 10 Additional Superintendents of Police, 31 Deputy Superintendents of Police and 64 inspectors would be deployed to keep the devotees off the town.
To ensure that no outsiders reach Rath Yatra venue, tourists had been asked to vacate guest houses and hotels in the town.
The three chariots were constructed by traditional carpenters at a place called Ratha Khala where no outsider was allowed. As a precautionary step, all of them were vaccinated and tested before allowing them in the construction of chariots.
The servitors testing negative for COVID-19 would be allowed to pull chariots. Similarly, ‘sevayats’, who would perform complex rituals inside the Jagannath Temple and carry massive wooden idols to chariots, have already undergone RT-PCR tests.
Except Puri, nowhere else has the Rath Yatra been allowed. Though priests and other devotees had moved the Supreme Court pleading to allow the celebration of the Rath Yatra in other areas in a similar fashion as in Puri, the court refused to entertain it.