What are we without them: Priests at Puri's Jagannath Temple miss devotees during Rath Yatra

For the second year in a row, the nine-day long festival of Rath Yatra in Odisha's Puri was devoid of devotees due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Only those priests and officials were allowed to take part in the yatra who were fully vaccinated and tested negative for Covid-19.

"We celebrated the event today, we pulled the chariot. However, it is not the same without the devotees because even Lord Jagannath wants devotees to come to his temple." These were the words of a priest at Jagannath Temple in Odisha's Puri as the nine-day long festival of Rath Yatra began on Monday. For the second year in a row, the yatra was devoid of devotees due to the Covid-19 pandemic.