Chatar festival is held in the Bhawanipatna town of Odisha’s Kalahandi district.
- The festival is usually marked by the sacrifice of thousands of animals and birds, however, this year it passed off without much bloodshed on October 23, 2020.
- This year, the Orissa High Court had ordered ban on animal sacrifice.
- The Kalahandi district administration had imposed a strict security blanket that did not let devotees kill animals and birds in propitiating Goddess Manikeswari.
- On this festival, the idol of Goddess Manikeswari is taken to Jena Khal on the outskirts of the town, and after some secret rituals, the deity returns to her abode. The return journey is known as Chatar Yatra.
- Lakhs of devotees from Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and West Bengal participate in the festival.
- On this occasion, almost every family has an animal or bird to sacrifice.
(The Hindu)
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