Bhubaneswar: It’s been two years since Mohammad Alim, a resident of Puri, has seen a glimpse of Lord Jagannath on the train during Rath Yatra because of a ban on the meeting of worshipers in the middle of Covid.
He may have to wait another year to be able to take part in the country’s biggest festival.
In accordance with the ancient tradition, the Jagannath Temple in Puri allows access to only for Hindus and those who like Alim and others get a once-inner opportunity a year to catch a glimpse of gods when they leave the temple during Rat Yatra.
“We respect the traditions and rules of the temple.
Rath Yatra is the only chance when we can have Darshan from the gods on the train outside the temple.
But we have lost this moment for the past two years because of the ban on the participation of worshipers,” Alim said.
Foreign worshipers belonging to the international community for Krishna (Iskcon) awareness were also disappointed.
No fewer than 500 Isycon worshipers from various countries will visit Puri during Rath Yatra before the Covid outbreak.
“I have received several questions from some worshipers in Russia and England.
They want to visit Puri.
But I told them about the prohibition of the government about the meeting of worshipers during the festival,” said Harish Mohanty, a hotel in Puri.
Many Hindu worshipers, who find it difficult to visit temples from remote places in Odisha during a pandemic, have also been left sad.
“I can visit the temple on normal days for Darshan.
But we stayed at Malkangiri and it was far from Puri.
We planned to visit during Rath, but the pandemic ran hoping,” said Sahadeb Pattnik, a worshiper.
Jayashree Mahapatra, a worshiper from the default, said, “I have a smooth Darshan from the gods at the temple in March.
I hope that normal will be back.
But the pandemic plays spoilsport and makes us away from the gods.” The servants also felt The absence of worshipers.
“When I pulled the train, I cried when we missed the crowd, their singing from Jai Jagannath and the hustle and bustle at the Grand Road,” said Ramachandra Dasmohapatra, a senior servitor.