Bhubaneshwar, Sept. 30 -- Animals were slaughtered en masse in the early hours today during the Chhatar Yatra festival in Odisha's Kalahandi district, despite widespread opposition to the age-old custom.
The famous Chhatar Yatra of the presiding deity, Maa Manikeswari, was taken out on the streets of Bhawanipatna, the district headquarters township, traversing a three-kilometre route. Devotees sacrificed numerous animals, mainly goats, along both sides of the road as a mark of fulfilling their wishes.
The ritual lasted for several hours, with the cries of the animals filling the air, amidst the frenzied beating of drums.
The local administration refrained from intervening to end the practice, allowing hundreds of garlanded animals to be ...