Puri: Acting on the advice of the state government, East Coast Railway (ECoR) authorities Saturday announced cancellation of all trains to Puri until further orders.
The routes of all Puri bound trains will terminate at Bhubaneswar station and the trains which were supposed to start from Puri would now start from Bhubaneswar instead, railway sources informed.
Purushottam Express, which was decided to run from June 1 would start from Bhubaneswar. Similarly, Sialda-Puri Duronto Express would run from Bhubaneswar.
The decision has been taken in view of a likely change to Puri Rath Yatra format this year.
In a departure to established traditions amid COVID-19 outbreak, the state government is expected to allow the annual festival to be held sans devotees this year. Srimandir Managing Committee made a recommendation to the state government in this context Saturday.
Given the large number of crowd that congregates at Puri during Rath Yatra, it could have acted as a catalyst to COVID outbreak. Cancellation of train services will deter thousands of pilgrims from coming to the town, a source said.
PNN
