PURI: The five-day health camp for servitors, who will participate in the annual Rath Yatra this year, began here on Tuesday. As many as 154 Daita servitors and their families were given ‘Arsenic Album-30’, a homeopathic drug proclaimed to boost immunity against Covid-19. In the coming days, Pratihari, Pujapanda, Garabadu, Suarmahasuaras, Simhari and other servitors and their families will be administered the drug.
Dr Kamalakanta Prusty of Regional Research Institute of Homeopathy said, “The drug has been approved by both the Union Ministry of Ayush and the State Government. Following request of Sri Jagannath Temple Administration, a team of homeopaths is conducting the five-day camp,” he said.
Around 2,200 servitors and their families will be given the drug. Temple administrator AK Jena said all servitors, chosen for the festival, will attend the camp in batches on different dates. The Covid-19 tests conducted on the servitors were found negative. He said the servitors have been advised to maintain social distancing, use masks and adhere to norms meant to prevent the spread of coronavirus.