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Orissa high court seeks govt response on holding Rath Yatra

CUTTACK: The Orissa high court on Tuesday sought a response from the state government on the conduct of the Rath Yatra in Puri on June 23.

This was prompted by a PIL petition against the conduct of the festival in view of the pandemic. The petition was filed when the Union home ministry had on May 7 granted permission for the construction of the chariots, but had left it to the government to decide whether or not to conduct the festival.



The division bench of chief justice Mohammad Rafiq and justice Biswajit Mohanty took up the matter for hearing on Tuesday via video-conference. Advocate general Ashok Kumar Parija told the court that he would take instructions on the matter. The bench posted it to June 9 for hearing along with the response.

The petitioner, Surendra Panigrahi of Berhampur , cited the statement issued by the Mukti Mandap, the highest body of Hindu religious scholars in the Puri temple on April 27, to argue his case against the conduct of the Rath Yatra. In the statement, Mukti Mandap's working president Biswanath Mishra had said the Yatra could not be observed in Puri many times in the past due to attacks on the temple by invaders. Therefore, there was no harm if the festival was not held this time for the greater good of the devotees, he said.

The servitors' body Chhatisa Nijog had, on the other hand, proposed a scaled-down festival. The annual Rath Yatra should not be mistaken for a mere festive procession that could be cancelled or postponed, the Chhatisa Nijog had said.

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