Shutdown Puri to conduct Rath Yatra, suggests Congress

‘If Snana Purnima could be held, Rath Yatra is possible with only servitors & police’
For representational purpos. (Photo | PTI)
For representational purpos. (Photo | PTI)

BHUBANESWAR:  As demand for recall of the Supreme Court order staying Rath Yatra in the State including the Jagannath temple at Puri intensified, the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) on Saturday suggested that the Government should conduct the annual festival by declaring shutdown in the temple town.

OPCC president Niranjan Patnaik said if the Snana Purnima could be conducted in a disciplined manner on June 5, the State Government should take similar steps to conduct the Rath Yatra by engaging police and servitors without any devotees. “Government should take steps to conduct Rath Yatra so that the specialists will stop giving different suggestions during debates in news channels and media,” he said.

Criticising the State Government for not taking a decision on such an importance issue at the right time, Patnaik said perhaps it did not want to take any risk of spread of coronavirus. “Lakhs of devotees congregate at Puri during the Rath Yatra.

A minor slip could have led to a serious situation and entire country would have been affected. It is very easy to talk from outside (not in government),” he said. Patnaik said a new history will be created if the Car festival is stopped this year. The Government should take a decision to conduct Rath Yatra as people will anyway not come because of the coronavirus scare, he said.

Endowments asks temples to go by SC ruling
Bhubaneswar: The Commissioner of Endowments has asked the district collectors to enforce the Supreme Court direction staying Rath Yatra across Odisha. The Supreme Court in its June 18 judgement directed that there will be no Rath Yatra at Puri or in any other part of the State this year. It had also directed that there will be no secular or religious activities associated with the Rath Yatra during this period. The Endowment Commissioner said trust boards, executive officers and management of the religious institutions should not perform Rath Yatra and associated secular or religious activities as directed the by the Supreme Court.

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