Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Tuesday watched the live telecast of the Rath Yatra and paid obeisance to Lord Jagannath from his office at Lok Seva Bhawan here.
Usually, Naveen, a devotee of Lord Jagannath, always makes it a point to be in Puri during the Car Festival to have darshan of the deities. However, this time, due to restrictions put by the Supreme Court in view of Covid-19, he decided to watch live telecast of the festival from his office.
Chief Minister offered his prayer when the Nandighosha chariot started rolling on the Grand Road. He said the bewitching scene of the deities on the chariots make the hearts thrilled with reverence. This difficult time shall go away and welfare of the people will prevail. Not a single leaf moves without his will, he observed. As the sibling deities reached Gundicha temple in the evening, the Chief Minister expressed happiness over the timely completion of the chariot pulling ritual in Puri. He thanked the servitors, temple administration, district administration and the police for ensuring smooth conduct of the festival despite the restrictions. Naveen also lauded the Puri denizens for their cooperation with the administration for adhering to the Supreme Court’s directive.
Union Ministers Dharmendra Pradhan and Pratap Sarangi also watched live telecast of the festival on TV and paid obeisance to the deities.
