State govt on its toes to conduct Puri Rath Yatra tomorrow

Puri, June 22: The state administration and temple administration have  geared up for conduct of annual Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath at Puri tomorrow amid Covid-19 pandemic following verdict of the Supreme Court delivered this afternoon. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik will chair a state level Rath Yatra preparatory meeting at 5 pm. Earlier, state's Chief Secretary Asit Kumar Tripathy and DGP Abhay arrived at the pilgrim town on the instructions of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and began supervision of preparations. While Chief Secretary Mr Tripathy reviewed the official arrangements for the conduct of the festival, DGP Mr Abhay took stock of the security arrangements. Puri district Collector Balwant Singh said, "We are prepared for the conduct of the festival tomorrow if the apex court gives its green signal. We are at the advanced stage of preparations". The state administration in its petition filed today in the Supreme Court had said that it was ready to conduct the festival without public participation. State's Counsel Harish Salve had told the court during the hearing that the pulling of chariots would be done by the police personnel and servitors who tested negative for Covid-19. Meanwhile, a team of experts of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) headed by N C Pal conducted a structural scrutiny of the three chariots prior to climbing of the deities. The makeshift shopkeepers and street vendors started clearing the Grand Road on which the three chariots would roll. The Puri Municipality administration asked though public address system to vacate the road and the traders obliged.