Puri: As many as eight servitors engaged at chariot construction here for the Car Festival ahead tested positive for Covid-19. Temple administrator (development) Ajay Kumar Jena informed this Thursday.
Of the eight infected servitors, three are Maharana servitors and the rest five are Bhoi servitors.
Reportedly, samples of 89 servitors, who were kept isolated, had been collected Wednesday. The reports of eight servitors came out to be positive for infection.
“All the servitors working at the Rath Construction Yard have already received first doses of vaccine. And they were allowed to work at the yard only after their RT-PCR reports came out to be negative for Covid-19. The infected eight servitors are undergoing treatment at Neelachal Covid Care Centre. After recovery, they will resume their work,” informed Jena.
While it is feared that the chariot construction work will get delayed due to the servitors getting infected by coronavirus, Jena said the construction work will not be affected at all.
Notably, the world famous ‘Rath Yatra’ of Lord Jagannath and his siblings falls on July 12. And the chariot construction work commenced May 15, on the auspicious day of Akshaya Tritiya.
Puri district Thursday reported 424 new Covid-19 cases and one fatality. With this, the district’s tally and toll have gone up to 27,186 and 145 respectively.
PNN