Bhubaneswar: Amid flak from several quarters for allegedly not making its stand clear in the Supreme Court on Ratha Jatra, the Odisha government today said it will take favourable action as legally permissible on the request of Gajapati Maharaj Dibyasingha Deb when the writ petition will be taken up for hearing before the apex court tomorrow.

Worth mentioning, the writ petition (Civil) No. 571 of 2020 under Article 32 of the Constitution of India was filed before the apex court praying for a direction to be issued to the Central Government and the Odisha government to not grant any permission to hold Ratha Jatra which is scheduled to be held on June 23, 2020.

Also, three intervention applications were filed and listed along with the writ petition before Supreme Court on June 18, 2020. The applicants in the intervention applications prayed before the Supreme Court that permission may be granted for holding the Rath Yatra on June 23, 2020 and the three chariots may be pulled by the sevayats and police officials present in the district of Puri while adhering to social distancing norms.

In a statement, the Odisha government said its stand before the SC on June 18, 2020 was primarily related to thousands of Ratha Jatras taking place all over the State. These involve lakhs of people and happen almost in every gram panchayat of the state.

“More than five lakh people of Odisha have returned back to the state since May. Most of them are likely to complete their quarantine period by the end of June. This along with the onset of monsoon has made the Covid pandemic likely to peak in the State in June and July. The pandemic has killed lakhs of people across the globe and so far Odisha has handled the pandemic in an efficient manner with lowest mortality rates in the Country. Any Congregation during the probable peaking period can lead to loss of lives and serious public health hazard,” the statement read.

The Gajapati Maharaj, the Chairman of the Sri Jagannath Temple Management Committee, wrote to the State government on June 20, 2020 requesting the Ratha Jatra in Puri may be held without any congregation of general public and with the State Government taking appropriate steps to prevent spread of COVID-19.

Also read: Puri Ratha Jatra: Intervention Applications Listed For Hearing In SC