PURI: With Rath Yatra coming to an end with Niladri Bije of the Trinity on Saturday, it was business as usual at Sri Jagannath Temple.
On Sunday, regular priests took charge from the daita servitors who conducted the nine-day festival. After conduct of daily rituals like Mangala Alati, Mailama, Tadaplagi, Abakash and Gopal Bhog, Nilachal Abhada was offered to the Trinity.
The devotees were given the abhada outside the temple. Shankaracharya Swami Nischalanand Saraswati, Gajapati Dibyasingh Deb and Collector Balwant Singh thanked the devotees, servitors and other stakeholders for the smooth conduct of the annual event.
The conduct of the festival was shrouded in uncertainty as the Supreme Court directed to stop it on June 18.
When the court gave its nod to conduct the festival with certain restrictions, it came as a huge relief for devotees.
They thanked the temple administration and the State Government for ensuring the festival was conducted as per Covid-19 safety guidelines.
Meanwhile, the Collector has urged devotees not to visit Puri till July 31 in view of rise in Covid-19 positive cases in the town. All entry points to the town have been sealed till the end of this month and weekend shutdown reintroduced as a precautionary measure.
Naveen thanks servitors, admin
Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Sunday thanked servitors, Puri district administration and people of Odisha for their cooperation in smooth conduct of Rath Yatra. “Shri Jagannath has returned to the Srimandir with his siblings. It all became possible by his grace,” he said.