Tradition Of Centuries May Not Be Stopped' : Centre, Odisha Seeks SC's Permission To Conduct Puri Jagannath Rath Yatra With Precautions
The Centre and the Odisha Government have sought permission from the Supreme Court to conduct Puri Jagannath Rath Yatra with precautions. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, mentioning the matter before a bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra, said : "The tradition of centuries may not be stopped. It is a matter of faith for crores. If Lord Jagannath will not come out tomorrow, he cannot come out for 12 years ad per traditions" . He submitted that the Centre has come out with a lot of conditions which can be adopted to ensure that the festival can be held without congregation of people, and by permitting only those priests who have tested negative for COVID-19 to conduct the rituals. "While maintaining the precautions to ensure that pendamic is not spread, State Government can impose curfew for a day. All shebaits and Pandas and others who are tested negative can participate in rituals as may be decided by HH Shri Shankracharya. People may not congregate and may seek blessings...