Bhubaneswar: The Sital Sasthi festival of Lord Lingaraj will be held this year without the participation of devotees amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The rituals will be carried out by only seven servitors.
The Sital Sasthi festival will be celebrated on June 16 this year. The divine marriage will be solemnised on June 15 night.
As the lockdown is in force till June 17 in the State, the festival will take place as per the guidelines issued by the BMC in view of COVID infections.
The servitors and police personnel, who will be engaged in the festival, will undergo COVID RT-PCR test. The servitors will carry out the rituals by wearing face masks and maintaining physical distancing. All the servitors will undergo thermal screening every day.
The marriage of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati is called Sital (cool) Sasthi and is held on the sixth day of the fortnight of the Odia month of ‘Jyestha’.
The festival is celebrated to welcome the much-awaited monsoon.
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