Bhubaneswar, May 4 (PTI) The Shree Jagannath Temple Managing Committee (SJTMC) on Monday resolved to go ahead with the construction of chariots for the annual Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath scheduled to be held on June 23.

The decision was taken at a SJTMC meeting chaired by Puri Gajapati Maharaja Dibya Singha Deb.

Chariot construction could not start in view of the lockdown imposed in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak in the country.

"The managing committee meeting today unanimously decided to go for chariot construction as it is not a religious function, rather an activity associated with construction," Deb told reporters after the meeting.

He, however, made it clear that the final decision on the matter would be taken by the state government.

Deb said it was decided at the meeting that construction of chariots was not any religious function and is associated with construction work, which is allowed by the Ministry of Home Affairs in all three zones -- red, orange and green -- during the ongoing lockdown.

Puri town has so far not reported any COVID-19 case, the Gajapati said, adding that the pilgrim town comes under the green zone and therefore, there should be no restriction on construction activities. PTI AAM SKN RG IJT 05041909 NNNNs going to have a profound impact on the tour financially, as well as many of our partners, both in sponsorship and broadcast areas,” he said.

The European Tour started the year with a schedule of 46 events held in 31 countries, which includes the four majors and four World Golf Championships.

Pelley was not part of the group that tried to reconfigure a golf schedule to salvage what it could of the season. The Masters has been postponed until November 12-15, the same date as the Nedbank Challenge in South Africa, one of Europe's premier Rolex Series events.

The US Open has moved to Sept. 17-20, the same week as the KLM Open in the Netherlands.

Rolex Series events have a USD 7 million purse, an amount that goes up as its Race to Dubai concludes with three events in November.

The Telegraph reported that Pelley and key members of his staff have taken salary cuts, and that some staff at headquarters south of London has been furloughed.

To salvage the season, Pelley suggested in the memo that when golf resumes, there could be multiple tournaments in the same location, two tournaments in the same week or as many as four tournaments in consecutive weeks in the United Kingdom, preceded by a 14-day period that would allow players from other countries to self-isolate in advance if that health requirement is still in play.

Pelley said the Rolex Series and UK events are a priority for the tour and broadcaster Sky Sports, and that it will "play behind closed doors if necessary."

Four European Tour members are among the top 10 in the world ranking — Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Patrick Reed and Tommy Fleetwood — though all are joint PGA Tour members and all but Fleetwood live in the United States. AP

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)