Snana Jatra: COVID-19 test of servitors to begin tomorrow

Puri: While Snana Jatra, the bathing festival of Lord Jagannath and his divine siblings, will be held with reduced number of servitors on June 5,  COVID-19 test of the servitors to be engaged in the rituals will begin tomorrow.

Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) Administrator (Development) Ajay Kumar Jena today informed that 150 servitors of Daitapati Nijog will undergo the test on May 27 and 28 while swab samples of 120 Garabadu servitors will be collected on May 29 and 30. The samples will be collected at SJTA office, he added.

Meanwhile, Khuntia Nijog submitted  a list of 10 servitors to be associated with Snana Jatra to the SJTA Administrator (Rituals) today.

Yesterday, the Daitapati Nijog submitted a list of servitors reducing the number to 150. Of 150 servitors, 60 will be engaged for Pahandi of Lord Jagannath from Ratna Singhasan to Snana Mandap, 50 for Lord Balabhadra, 30 for Goddess Subhadra and 10 servitors will be in service of Lord Sudarshan.

Worth mentioning, the SJTA has decided to conduct the bathing rituals of Lord Jagannath with minimum number of servitors and in adherence to the social distancing norms as a precautionary measure of COVID-19. Hence, servitors, who will be associated with the Snana Jatra, will undergo the COVID-19 test before the festival.