Puri to be under 2-day curfew before return of Lord Jagannath's Rath to prevent COVID-19

The Puri administration announced on Saturday that a curfew will be imposed in the entire district from 10 pm on June 30 to 10 pm on July 2 to prevent a congregation of people during the return car festival of Lord Jagannath in view of the coronavirus pandemic. All the entry points to Puri will be sealed and no vehicle other than those engaged in the return car festival will be allowed into the temple town during the curfew hours. Earlier, Odisha's government had imposed a complete shutdown of Puri on on June 23 from 9 pm till 2 pm.

READ | Jagannath Rath Yatra: Puri to remain under complete shutdown till 2 pm on June 24

The announcement of curfew in the district comes a day after Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik called upon everyone to adhere to a Supreme Court order and the COVID-19 guidelines to make the return car festival as successful as the Rath Yatra.  

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Issuing a statement, the Puri District Collector Balwant Singh said: "The curfew will remain in force throughout the district during the period to ensure smooth conduct of the Bahuda Yatra. Movement of vehicles and people will not be allowed during the period. Appealing to the people from other parts of the state to refrain from trying to visit Puri to witness the "Bahuda Yatra", Singh said everyone should abide by the Supreme Court's directives during the historic festival, which is being held amidst the crisis triggered by COVID-19. The residents of Puri should refrain from venturing out of their homes to watch the return car festival and people from other parts of the state must not proceed to the seaside pilgrim town. All the devotees, both in Puri and outside, can watch the proceedings on television, the collector added.

The return car festival marks the end of the nine-day Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath and his siblings, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Shubhadra, to the Shree Gundicha Temple.  The "Bahuda Yatra" will be followed by the "Suna Besa" (gold attire) of the deities on July 2, "Adhara Pana" on July 3 and "Niladri Bije" on July 4. As these festivals too attract a large number of devotees, there will be restrictions on non-essential movement of the public from July 1 to July 4, the collector said.

SC order on Jagannath Rath Yatra 

On Monday, June 22, a three-judge SC bench comprising CJI SA Bobde, Justice Dinesh Maheshwari and Justice AS Bopanna permitted the Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra to take place in Puri. While it had previously ruled against the Rath Yatra in the wake of public health concerns, the apex court found merit in the Puri Jagannath Temple Administration Chairman's proposal. Moreover, in a midnight hearing after the state government filed an appeal, the Gujarat High Court stayed its order of not permitting Jagannath Yatra in Ahmedabad. 

READ | SC gives nod for Puri Jagannath Rath Yatra: Read the apex court's conditions here

COVID testing

The Odisha government has said that it will test around 5,000 people associated with Lord Jagannath’s Rath Yatra, including servitors, police personnel and municipality staff. This comes after a servitor of Puri Jagannath Temple has tested positive for coronavirus.

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