Puri: Lord Jagannath and his siblings Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra were dressed in Rajrajeswar Besha or Suna Besha at the Lord Jagannath Temple in Puri on the occasion of Kartika Purnima on Friday.
After the early morning rituals, the deities were adorned with huge gold ornaments and seated on the Ratna Singhasan (golden throne) inside the temple. However, there were no devotees to witness the Besha due to Covid-19 restrictions.
Meanwhile, 20 platoons of police force, 4 ASPs, 10 DSPs, and 50 officers have been deployed for security arrangments around the temple and Panch Tirtha (five sacred ponds) to prevent the gathering of devotees for Kartik Purnima.
As devotees have been barred to enter the temple due to the Covid-19 pandemic, they are observing Kartik brata by standing in a queue outside the temple to have darshan of the Patitapaban image of Lord Jagannath.
They could not take holy dip in Panch Tirtha on the occasion as the administration had imposed a ban on bathing in water bodies due to the prevailing coronavirus situation.
