Jagannath Rath Yatra begins
President, Vice-president, Odisha CM greet people, pray for victory over virus
PURI: The historic Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath commenced on Tuesday in this pilgrim town without the usual sea of devotees and amid tight security in view of the COVID-19 pandemic, less than 24 hours after the Supreme Court modified its earlier order to clear the decks for the annual ritual.
In order to prevent any congregation, a curfew-like shutdown has been imposed across Puri district from 9 pm on Monday till 2 pm on Wednesday, DGP Abhay said.
Over 50 platoons of police force (one platoon has 30 personnel) have been deployed and CCTVS installed at various locations as part of the security arrangement for the nine-day festival, officials said, adding, all entry points to Puri were sealed. Priests and police personnel, who were part of the chariot pulling ritual, underwent mandatory COVID-19 testing on Monday night and only those whose reports came out negative were allowed to participate in the festival, they said. A number of customary rituals like 'Manglaarati' and 'Mailam' were held before the presiding deities -- Lord Jagannath, his elder brother Lord Balabhadra and their sister Devi Subhadra -- set out from the sanctum sanctorum of the temple. Meanwhile, President Ram Nath Kovind, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and a host of other ministers and dignitaries greeted people on Tuesday on the occasion of Rathyatra, and prayed for their well-being, amid the COVID19
crisis.
In his message on Twitter, the President prayed for courage and determination to fight the pandemic. “Greetings to everyone on the auspicious occasion of Rathyatra, especially to the devotees of Lord Jagannath in Odisha. May the Lord bless us with courage and determination in our fight against COVID19 and bring us good health and joy,” read a tweet from the official Twitter account of the Rashtrapatibhavan.
Naidu also took to the
microblogging site to wish people on the occasion. “I convey my heartiest greetings and good wishes to the people of our country on the auspicious occasion of Rath Yatra. Jagannathpurirathyatra is the most revered and much awaited festival of Odisha,” the vice president said.
Odisha Governor Ganeshi Lal greeted people and sought the Lord's blessings for peace, brotherhood, and victory over the Coronavirus pandemic.