At least 351 servitors and 53 employees of Shree Jagannath Temple here have tested positive for COVID-19, an official said.
A total of 404 persons engaged in the 12th century shrine have tested positive for the virus, said Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) administrator Ajay Jena.
He said the rituals at the temple, however, were continuing as usual.
The Jagannath temple has been closed for devotees since March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The official said, “since most of the servitors are in home isolation after testing positive for the infection, there is a shortage of knowledgeable people to perform rituals.”
At least a group of 13 priests each were required to perform the rituals of Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra and Lord Jagannath, the official explained, adding, this necessitated the presence of 39 priests, apart from other servitors daily, in the oldest Lord Vishnu Temple.
“The uniqueness of the Puri temple is that rituals are interconnected with each other. They start from the early hours and extend till the night. If one ritual is not performed, the next one cannot be performed as per the temple tradition,” said Bhaskar Mishra, a researcher in Jagannath culture.
If more number of servitors test positive for the virus in the coming days, there might be a hindrance in performing these rituals. The administration is thus considering a proposal to engage junior servitors, he said.
So far, a total of 9,704 COVID-19 cases have been detected in Puri district of which 1,255 cases are reported from Puri Municipality area alone. Of the 52 deaths reported in the district, nine hail from the Puri Municipality area. At least three of the nine fatalities in Puri town are servitors engaged in the temple rituals, the district health officials said.
Only two servitors had tested positive for COVID-19, when the administration had tested all the servitors engaged in the annual Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath. However, the infection struck Puri about a month after the festival, an official said, adding that the SJTA used to provide homoeopathy preventive medicines to servitors’ families to keep them safe.
Meanwhile, the State government, in an affidavit, informed the Orissa High Court that it is not possible to reopen the temple including Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri for devotees.
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