‘Rath Yatra’ loses its sheen
   Date :24-Jun-2020

Jagannath Mandir_1 &
Devotees in queue at Jagannath Mandir, Turi Hatri, Purani Basti in Raipur city on Tuesday.  
 
Staff Reporter :
 
Raipur,
 
‘Rath Yatra’ festival was celebrated sans devotees or in the presence of a handful of devotees amid the corona crisis in Raipur city on Wednesday. The ‘Rath Yatra’ was celebrated at Jagannath Madir, Turi Hatri, however a few devotees were present at Jagannath Mandir Gayatri Nagar. The celebration at Neelkantheshwar Mandir, Trimurthy Nagar remained simple.
 
Rituals were performed at the temples on the occasion. Some devotees were also seen in queue for ‘darshan’ at Jagannath Madir, Turi Hatri. Only priests performed rituals of ‘Rath Yatra’ on the chariots at the temples across State. Shri Jagannath Sewa Samiti President Purandar Mishra said that Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra were taken to their respective chariots – Nandighosha, Taladhwaja and Devadalana, situated on the temple premises at Gayatri Nagar for ‘darshan’.
 
However, chariots were not pulled by the devotees unlike previous years. Similarly, there was no ‘prasad’ distribution programme at temple. Barricading was done around chariots to stop devotees, coming for ‘darshan’ of their revered God, from touching the chariots.