Religious festival in India's Odisha goes ahead without devotees

Religious festival in India's Odisha goes ahead without devotees

The Jagannath Puri Rath Yatra, one of India's most famous religious festivals, went underway in Puri, Odisha on June 23 without devotees due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The world's largest chariot festival sees devotees taking three Hindu gods - Lord Balabhadra, Lord Jagannath and Devi Subhadra - out of their home temple in a colourful procession to another temple.

Millions of devotees usually gather every year but this year the Supreme Court allowed local authorities to hold the festival with a maximum of 500 people pulling each of the chariots.

The Odisha government also imposed a 41-hour curfew in town of Puri, which will end on Wednesday at 2 pm.

As per legend, the deities come out of their abode annually to give darshan (viewings) to all devotees, irrespective of caste, creed and religion.