Kendrapara, Oct 13: Defying vociferous protest by animal lovers, hundreds of animals were slaughtered en masse in a couple of shrines in Orissa's Kendrapara district early this morning as the residents believe offering sacrifice is the sole protection from the fury of natural disasters.

While nearly 200 goats were sacrificed at Osaranga hamlet's Budhi Jagulei shrine, around 60 buffaloes, besides hundreds of goats and sheep were slaughtered near the Panchuvarahi shrine in the coastal Satabhaya hamlet, according to Action for Protection of Wild Animals (APOWA), a local NGO. Residents of Satabhaya and Osangara hamlets observed the age-old ritual on Ashtami day of Dussehra celebrations as thousands of people from the district and neighbouring Jajpur and Jagatsinghpur districts witnessed the sacrifice.

Residents in these parts believe offering sacrifice is the sole means to propitiate the goddess, who in return protects the villages from the fury of natural disasters. The practice, in accordance with a ritual followed by worshippers of the Shakti cult, has been going on for several years, APOWA secretary Bijay Kabi said alleging that the district administration had remained indifferent to the despicable practice.

Kabi further said that some people at Osangara also chased away the crew members of a national TV channel, who had gone there to take pictures of the sacrifice. Bureau Report