Puri (Odisha):For the first time in living memory, Lord Jagannath's annual Snan Purnima rituals were held at the 12th century shrine in this seaside pilgrim town on Friday in the absence of devotees due to the lockdown curbs but priests did not wear masks and disregarded social distancing norms.
Though a limited number of servitors were required to perform the proceedings, a video showed a large congregation in violation of social distancing precaution needed to ward off the COVID-19 infection.
Many servitors were seen milling around the idols of the presiding deities.
The sibling deities were carried out of the main temple at about 1:40 am in a procession by select servitors who had to undergo the test for the coronavirus before they were allowed to participate in the rituals, a prelude to the famous annual Rath Jatra, which attracts lakhs of devotees from across the world in normal times.
Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra, Lord Jagannath and Lord Sudarshan were seated at the bathing altar inside the temple premises where 108 pitchers of scented water was poured on them amid chanting of slokas. The altar is called Snana Bedi.