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Puri: On Friday, the district administration stated to impose a 48-hour curfew in Puri town from July 11, 2021.
In order, the district administration stated shutdown with curfew will be imposed under Section 144 of CrPC in the jurisdiction Puri Town with effective from 8 PM of July 11, 2021, to 8 PM of July 13, 2021.
To prohibit a congregation of people because of Ratha Yatra 2021, the Puri district administration issued to impose a 48-hour curfew in Puri town from July 11, 2021.
All hotels, lodging, dharmasalas, and guesthouses on the Grand Road will not be allowed to open for tourists, devotees, and other people in their organizations. The order further said these establishments will vacate their broader, guests, and inmates by July 10, 2021.
During the period of curfew, for the area other than the Grand Road area of Puri town all shops will remain closed except medicine, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and optical shop. Besides, three entry points of Puri town i.e. Batagaon, Mangalaghat, and Grid Station Chhak will be sealed.

The administration of Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri issued some crucial guidelines on Saturday that must be strictly followed throughout the celebration of this year’s Rath Yatra, which begins on July 12.

Soon after conducting a vital meeting with the Chhattisa Nijog (sects of servitor bodies), police, and district administration about the smooth implementation of the annual car festival, temple office head administrator Krishan Kumar provided light on the protocols.

The temple office has set forth the following requirements for strict adherence to Covid guidelines as well as the Supreme Court of India’s norms.

Those are as follows:

1) During the deities’ Gundicha and Bahuda Yatras, only servitors would be allowed to pull the chariots.

2) During the Dakhina Moda rite (southward movement of the chariots), police will be present.

3) No officials, temple staff, or district administration employees will be allowed to pull chariots this year, like last year.

4) To avoid incidences of people taking selfies and photos on top of the chariots, the servants will not be permitted to bring their phones or cameras to the celebration.

5) Covid tests will be conducted on all participants, including sevayats, police, and officials, in accordance with the Odisha Health Department’s pandemic rules.

6) During the festival, participants will be given sanitizers, masks, and gamuchhas.

7) Because of the hot weather, the management is planning to put up rest camps near the Srimandir and the Gundicha Temple to provide relief to the servants and other participants.

8) Medical care will be installed in the rest camps in order to avoid any healthcare-related issues during the festival.

9) After the ceremonies are completed, transportation arrangements have been made to transport servitors back to their homes.

10) In and around the temples & Bada Danda Section 144 will be strictly enforced.

11) In a few days, the exact number of servitors who will be permitted to sit atop the chariot platform will be published, but an agreement has been reached that just a small number of sevayats will be permitted to remain on the chariots.

12) Because devotees would only be able to see the deities and rites via television and the internet, a thorough SOP is being finalised to assure a clear display of the event from the chariot with no interruption from servitors.

https://odishatv.in/news/festivals-events/rath-yatra-guidelines-temple-administration-bans-camera-mobiles-for-servitors-100580

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Puri is all set to celebrate Rath Yatra with all its grandeur. A complete schedule was devised for all its rituals and timings were finalised in a meeting of the Chhattisa Nijog held on Sunday.

All the special rituals including Snana Purnima and Niladri Bije have been approved in the meeting held today. Similarly, the schedule and timings for the conduct of Gundicha Yatra, Bahuda, Suna Besha and Adhar Pana rituals were also finalised under the chairmanship of the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) chief administrator.

“All arrangements will be made keeping in mind the Covid-19 norms and guidelines issued by the State government are strictly followed. All Sevayats have assured to cooperate with the SJTA to conduct all rituals smoothly,” said Niti Prasasak (Administrator, Rituals) of Sri Jagannath temple Jitendra Sahu.

The SJTA, earlier, had decided to conduct Covid test (RTPCR) of all sevayats and others who will be engaged during the tenure of Rath Yatra. The Covid test will be conducted in 4 stages:

• before Snana Yatra
• before Gundicha Yatra
• before Bahuda Yatra 
• and lastly, 15 days after the Niladri Bije

There would be no congregation of devotees during the Rath Yatra because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The schedule and timing of Rath Yatra are as follows:

• Snana Purnima (June 24): Mangalaparna from 1 am & Pahandi till 4 am Hati Besha from 11 am onwards and Bahuda Pahandi between 5 pm and 8 pm.
• Gundicha Yatra (July 12): Pahandi rituals from 8:30 am Chera Panhara: 2 pm and pulling of chariots from 3 pm
• Bahuda Yatra (July 20): Pahandi rituals between noon & 2:30 pm Pulling of chariots from 4 pm.
• Suna Besha (July 21): Rituals to be conducted between 4 pm and 5: 30 pm
• Adhar Pana (July 22) rituals to be completed by 8 pm and the pahandi rituals will begin from 4 pm and completed by 10 pm on Niladri Bije ( July 23).

By Ankita Mohanty

https://odishatv.in/news/festivals-events/puri-rath-yatra-schedule-released-from-snana-purnima-to-niladri-bije-check-details-50344

www.rtdjournal.com

Following the second wave of the Covid-19, the Odisha government decided on Thursday to prohibit the much-anticipated annual Rath Yatra celebration devoted to Lord Jagannath from taking place anywhere in the state except Puri, the Lord’s primary residence.

The major announcement was made today by Odisha SRC and Development Commissioner Pradeep Jena, who stated that the Holy Trinity’s nine-day sojourn, which begins on July 12 this year, will be held in Puri under strict adherence to guidelines laid out by the Supreme Court and the Odisha government in 2020, when the festival will be held without devotees for the first time in its centuries-long history.

The government of Odisha has always placed more importance on public safety and well-being. With the second wave of the Covid pandemic still spreading and the prospect of a third surge approaching, public gatherings during the big festival, which draws thousands and thousands of believers from all over the world, must be limited. Apart from that, because it is a mass event celebrated with great fanfare across Odisha and beyond, the SRC stated during a news conference that limitations on public involvement in the celebration are required.

The following major points are:

• During the Rath Yatra in Puri, public involvement will be prohibited.

• Servitors those who have a Covid negative RTPCR test report or who have been properly vaccinated will be allowed to participate in the rites.

• According to the Supreme Court’s rules, only 500 servitors will be allowed to pull each chariot during the event.

• For the celebration, a curfew will be imposed in Puri, with only necessary and emergency services being permitted. During the Rath Yatra, vehicular traffic to and from Puri will be prohibited.

• The Odisha government’s I & PR department will make a direct live telecast of the event available to all interested media outlets and broadcasters.

• Only rituals will be performed within the premises of all other Lord Jagannath shrines in Odisha, and the public will not be allowed to participate.

Written By: Swati Sahoo