India News | Many Temple Committees in Odisha Not to Conduct Rath Jatra Outside Temple Premises

Bhubaneswar/Baripada, Jun 17 (PTI) Several temple committees in Odisha including Shri Hari-Baladev Temple in Baripada on Wednesday announced not to conduct the annual Rath Jatra festival outside the temple premises in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.

At least 28 temple committees have decided to organize the rituals within the temple premises in wake of the COVID pandemic while abiding by the guidelines of both the Central government and state government.

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"In wake of the pandemic situation, it has been decided to conduct all the Rath Jatra rituals including the Lords return car festival, inside the temple premises going by the government guidelines," a statement issued by the managing committee of Shri Haribaladev Temple, Baripada said in a statement.

It said that as it is felt that the pulling of chariots is not possible by maintaining the social distancing norms, so the committee decided not to hold the Ratha Jatra outside the temple premises.

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Shri Haribaladev Temple at Baripada was built by Maharaja Baidyanath Bhanjadeo in 1547 and the Rath Jatra is being held for 445 years without any break, a temple managing committee member said.

This apart, 12 temples in Balasore district, 6 temples in Mayurbhanj district, 5 in Sambalpur district, 2 each temple in Kandhamal, Bolangir and Gajapati have also announced not to hold Rath Jatra outside the temple premises.

Meanwhile, opposition BJP and Congress asked the state government to make an announcement on the holding of the annual Rath Jatra in Puri which is scheduled to be held on June 23.

"Though rituals are being done as usual since June 5 Snana Jatra, the state government has not made any formal announcement on holding the annual festival of Rath Yatra," senior BJP leader Bijay Mohapatra said.

He said some court cases have been filed opposing and in support of holding the Ratha Jatra. Now, three cases are pending with the Supreme Court. While two petitions sought cancellation of Rath Yatra, one petition was filed in favour of the festival, Mohapatra said.

The opposition Congress also criticized the state government for not telling about holding the annual festival of Lord Jagannath.

Senior Congress leader Dharanidhar Nayak said: "Lords Snana Jatra was conducted after clamping Section 144. In this circumstance, it is a matter of concern. The matter has reached the Supreme Court. It is expected that the top court will pronounce ruling in a day or two."

Meanwhile, sources said, the state government is likely to take a final decision on the Puri Rath Jatra at the Cabinet meeting scheduled to be held on Thursday evening.

All the temples including Shree Jagannath temple in Puri are closed across the state for devotees since March 22 in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.

(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)