Kendrapara : Scores of servitors and devotees on Monday staged sit-in demonstration near Lord Baldevjew temple in Odisha’s Kendrapara demanding permission for conducting Rath Yatra at Tulashi Kshetra tomorrow.
The demonstration began minutes after the Supreme Court allowed to conduct Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra in the holy city of Puri in the state.
The protesting servitors said this is for the first time in the history of the temple, the chariot pulling and other rituals of car festival is not going to be held here.
A protesting servitor said, Brahma Taladhwaja Rath, the chariot of Lord Baladevjew, is the highest chariot in the world with 65 feet. Devotees have been anxiously waiting to witness the car festival here.
It is an emotional issue for the people of Kendrapara and the government should have found a way out to hold the festival, said another protestor.
In a meeting on June 18, the temple administration decided that the Rath Yatra of the Lord Baladevjew would be restricted to temple premises in view of COVID pandemic.
Ms Kalinga