The Sri Jagannath Temple Management Committee (SJTMC) has suggested to the Odisha government to take out the annual Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra at Puri in view of the coronavirus epidemic. The rath yatra is proposed in Puri on 23 June. Keeping in view the recommendation of the committee, the Government of Odisha has asked the Indian Railways not to run trains for Puri.
A decision in this regard was taken in a meeting of the committee held on Saturday under the chairmanship of Gajapati Maharaj Divyasingh Dev, traditionally considered to be the chief servant of God. The committee has recommended that the state government should arrange the live telecast of this annual festival so that millions of devotees from all over the world can watch it on TV.
After meeting through video conference, Dev told the journalists that we have suggested to take a rath yatra in front of the 12th century temple on the Grand Road in Puri, the state government has to take a final decision on it.
On the other hand, a senior official of the Eastern Coastal Railway said that based on the advice received by the Odisha government, we have decided not to run trains going from Bhubaneswar to Puri. The official said that the Purushottam Express, starting from June 1, will start from Bhubaneswar instead of Puri. The Sealdah-Puri Duronto Express will also run from Bhubaneswar.
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