The over three-century old Rath Yatra (chariot festival) of Jagannathpur in Ranchi is unlikely to be held this time too, like last year.

Though no official announcements have been made till now and the ongoing partial lockdown may be relaxed further, if not totally withdrawn, by July 12 when the festival is scheduled to be held, people feel that the administration, considering the present situation, may not allow taking out a procession with the deities on the chariot, let alone organising the fair that had become a part of the festivity for the past 300 years.

“We have requested for a meeting with chief minister Hemant Soren for discussing the matter and expecting to hear from his office soon,” Chandrakant Raipat, the secretary of the temple management committee, said on Monday, adding the final decision would be taken after that.

The presiding deities — Lord Jagannath and his siblings, brother Balabhadra or Balaram and sister Subhadra — are placed on the chariot and taken to their Mausi Bari about half a kilometre away every year and a large fair, along the route and beyond, is also held that draws a huge number of devotees.

But the 330-year old tradition was broken last year when the administration did not allow the festivities due to the Covid situation prevailing then and instead asked the temple authorities to perform the rituals with limited people inside the temple complex.

As such, the rath did not move and no fair was organised last year and only the rituals were performed by a limited number of priests in the presence of a few committee members within the closed complex.

Many wonder if it will be the same this time too as even the Jagannath temple in Puri will also organise the Rath Yatra without devotees this year.

“I think performing the rituals will be allowed as it was done last year but we are in favour of taking out the deities to Mausi Bari,” said someone close to the temple authorities who did not want to be identified.

They were also in favour of taking preventive measures for arresting the spread of Covid-19 and would arrange an alternative vehicle for the deities, he further said, adding that taking the deities to Mausi Bari was a part of both the ritual and tradition.

The Jagannathpur Temple was built by local ruler Aini Nath Shahdeo. According to legend, Shahdeo was about to set out for Puri but could not make it as he faced certain obstructions. When the king became depressed, the Lord, it is believed, himself instructed him, in a dream, to build a temple in Ranchi and worship him there. Thus, the ruler completed the temple construction on a hillock at the present Jagannathpur area. Rath Yatra and a fair started there in 1691 and continued uninterrupted since then. The temple later developed a crack and was renovated about 25 years ago.

“We are not aware if Rath Yatra was ever interrupted here,” Raipat said, adding the situation was different these two years when even the Puri event had to be cancelled last year.

The tribals, who were in a majority in the area that time, patronised the event. Though Ranchi grew enormously with passage of time and the mela started looking more like an urban affair, the tribals still visit it in large number as do others from the city.