JAJPUR: The annual Rath Yatra at Maa Biraja temple in Jajpur will be held without devotees for the second time in a row in view of the Covid-19 situation. The nine-day festival is scheduled to be organised from October 6 to 13 during Durga Puja this year.
At a meeting held between temple servitors and the district administration on Monday, October 4, 2021, it was decided that the lone chariot of Maa Biraja, the presiding deity of Jajpur, will be pulled only by servitors and police personnel.
Prohibitory orders under section 144 of the CrPC will be clamped in and around the temple from 2 pm to 5 am during the Rath Yatra period. Devotees will be allowed to visit the temple from 5 am to 2 pm and get a glimpse of the chariot from a distance. However, they won’t be allowed to make any offerings or pull the chariot, said Jajpur Collector Chakravarti Singh Rathore.