Bhubaneswar, July 4 -- Ahead of the upcoming Rath Yatra, the Odisha Housing and Urban Development Department has prohibited the distribution of cooked food along the Bada Danda. Under the new guidelines, voluntary organisations and donors will be permitted to distribute only dry food items to the millions of devotees expected to gather during the festival.

As per reports, this move is aimed at maintaining strict sanitation and public health standards.

The policy directive was confirmed during an on-ground inspection by the Additional Chief Secretary of the Housing and Urban Development Department, Usha Padhee, who visited Puri to review the final phases of civic preparations.

While cooked food has been banned, the state administration ...