Aurangabad, Oct 7:
Navratri festival and Karnapura Yatra have become an equation. However, the devotees going to pay obeisance to Goddess Karnapura on Thursday, were startled to see the empty field in Karnapura. According to locals, the fair has been called off four times in the last 74 years since independence. However, the devotees expressed their satisfaction as they could pay obeisance to the Goddess.
Due to the corona, the fair was not held this year. But, this is not the first time that the yatra has not been held. Before independence, a small fair was organised at Karnapura. But due to covid-19, the administration decided to cancel the Karnapura fair last year and this year. Earlier, on September 30, 1993, there was an earthquake in Killari. The yatra was hence called off the following October. The yatra was again called off in September 1994 when the plague hit Surat, said social activist Karan Singh Kakas.
Temple closed only once
The fair was cancelled for two years in a row due to the Killari earthquake and the plague in Surat. However, devotees were then allowed to take darshan of the Goddess. Even though the yatra has been cancelled this year, the temple has been opened for devotees. Devotees could not visit the Goddess in 2020 as the corona pandemic had hit the country.