The Odisha government on Saturday disallowed 'Bol Bam' devotees from praying at Shivaite shrines across the state in the 'Shravan' (July/August) month.
This decision comes after the novel coronavirus continues to spread rapidly in the state.
Pradeep Kumar Jena, the Special Relief Commissioner of Odisha, requesting people to refrain from participating in the 'Kanwar yatra', said no devotee will be allowed to carry water from water bodies or walk on public roads to pour water on lingams in Shiva temples.
The ban on yatra is placed to prevent public gathering that in turn will help to control the spread of the deadly coronavirus.
The state government has, however, shut down all religious sites and places of worship till July 31.
With that said, all religious, cultural, political and spiritual gatherings will not be held in Odisha till the end of July.
As many as 469 new COVID-19 cases have been reported in Odisha in last 24 hours, taking the total number of cases in the state to 9,070, according to the State Health Ministry.
A total of 5,934 people have recovered from the pandemic, with 3,090 active cases. The state has also witnessed 39 deaths due to the pandemic.
Across the country, 6,73,21657 people were confirmed COVID-19 positive, out of whom 409083 have recovered, while 19268 patients have died.
