40,000 Animals Sacrificed During Chhattar Festival

Kalahandi: Like every year, the devotees sacrificed thousands of animals on either side of the road near the Manikeswari temple in Bhawanipatna town of Kalahandi district to appease the presiding deity on the occasion of the annual Chhattar festival.

Sources said around 40,000 animals were sacrificed to ‘propitiate’ Goddess Manikeswari, the presiding deity of the town, on Sunday.

This happened despite the best efforts of the administration to check animal sacrifice.

“We have made security arrangements for the annual festival,” said Kalahandi SP Brijesh Ray.

More than one lakh people took part in the procession of Manikeswari. The deity was taken in a procession from Jenakhal after Sandhi puja to Bhawanipatna, which is the permanent abode of the deity.

The procession was carried out amid the rhythmic beats of Jenabadya, Nisan and Ghanta (traditional musical instruments) and dancers performing ‘Ghumura’ and martial art forms.