The Puri Rath Yatra was conducted as scheduled on Tuesday amid curfew-like restrictions in the temple town, and without devotees.

With the Supreme Court on Monday reversing its earlier decision and allowing the Yatra with curbs while ruling on review petitions filed by the Odisha government and others, only servitors of the Shri Jagannath Temple who tested negative for the coronavirus were allowed to pull the three chariots.

Servitors chanting "Jai Jagannath" amid the beating of gongs and cymbals pulled the chariots of Lord Jagannath and his siblings, Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra, from the Lion's Gate of the 12th-century Sri Jagannath Temple to Sri Gundicha temple 2.5km away.

The Supreme Court had allowed a total of 1,500 servitors -- 500 for each chariot -- to pull the raths. According to the Puri district administration, 1,143 servitors were tested for Covid-19 on Monday and one of them tested positive. He was taken to hospital while the others were allowed to participate in the event.

As no devotee was allowed to take part, Grand Road, through which the chariots made their way, and Puri in general wore a deserted look. Usually, around 10 lakh people attend the Rath Yatra.

Curfew-like curbs were clamped in Puri and residents not allowed out. Restrictions will stay till 3pm on Wednesday. All entry points to Puri have been sealed. Fifty platoons of police or 5,000 personnel have been deployed.

The event went live on television. Chief minister Naveen Patnaik, who attends the festival every year, watched the Yatra on TV at the secretariat in Bhubaneswar this time.

The rituals began at 4am on Tuesday. At 9.30am, the deities were brought from the sanctum sanctorum to the chariots. Puri Shankaracharya Swami Nischalananda Saraswati, who earlier came down heavily on the administration after the court scrapped this year's Yatra, paid obeisance to the deities atop the chariots -- Nandighosh of Lord Jagannath, Taladhwaja of Lord Balabhadra and Darpadalan of Goddess Subhadra..