Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in the presence of Ministers concerned with the Rath Yatra preparations on Sunday took stock of the final preparations for the festival that will begin from June 29.
The Chief Minister was appraised about the preparations by District Magistrate Dhiren Patnaik and temple Chief Administrator Arabinda Padhee.
While the committee and representatives of servitor bodies refrained from discussing the controversial issue of devotees climbing chariots and touching of deities in view of the High Court’s verdict on the matter, it was decided to hold another meeting within two to three days to finalise a list of people who will be allowed to stay atop the chariots during the rituals.
Members came down heavily on the works of health and drainage departments for their poor performance. Most of the members pointed out that the commitments made by the Health Department to fill up vacant posts of medicos and other staff during the last two such meetings are yet to be met.Members decried the absence of Health Minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak and the Health Secretary at this high-level meeting.