The Odisha government has decided to ban Kanwar Yatra or Bol Bam celebrations in the state due to COVID-19. This year, devotees will not be allowed to offer prayers at Shiva temples.
“No ‘Bol Bam’ devotees or Kanwariyas will be allowed to congregate, carry water from water bodies and walk on public roads to pour water on Shiva Lingas,” said Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) Pradeep Jena.
“The ‘Bol Bam’ devotees usually start their journey on Saturday/Sunday/Monday by collecting water from one religious place and walk till next Monday morning and pour the collected water on a Shiva Linga,” added Jena.
The state government remains defiant to stick by the orders of not allowing any social, political, and religious functions and congregations till July 31.
Meanwhile, the state has reported 495 new corona positive cases and five more deaths in the last 24 hours. Ganjam district has reported three fatalities while Khurda has disclosed two.
As per official data from the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC), 45 new cases have been detected in the capital city. However, Bhubaneswar has seen 31 new recoveries from the virus in the last 24 hours.