Bhubaneswar, Nov. 23 -- Chhattisgarh: At times, blind faith in superstitious practices contradict modern science so much so that logical theories developed to counter prevailing false beliefs and generate a scientific curiosity among people go for a complete toss. Uncanny as it may sound, last Saturday at the Dhamtari district in Chhattisgarh hundreds of married women yearning to conceive allowed priests and witchdoctors to walk over them so that they get blessed with a child.

Even though this startling ritual has no scientific evidence as yet, locals have held on to this belief for decades instead of preferring easier methods of conception, sources said.

Every year, thousands of tribal people from neighbouring areas visit the temple of...