Paradip, Jan. 16: Hundreds of animals were slaughtered as a part of annual religious rituals in at least two places in Paradip and Kendrapara on the occasion of Makar Sankranti yesterday.

Authorities turned a blind eye as the ritual was observed amid frenzied celebration. Nearly a hundred goats and cocks were slaughtered at the Gangamata shrine in Sandhakuda slum clusters near A similar ritual was observed with religious fervour for the Basulai deity in Bijoynagar village in Kendrapara district.

Animal rights activists alleged that their plea to stop the killings went unheeded by the administration. “We had sought the intervention of government officials in stopping the rituals. They had assured us they would intervene. But they simply did not turn up,” said Bijoy Kumar Kabi, an animal rights activist. “Hundreds of animals were slaughtered. We tried to stop it at Bijoynagar, but couldn’t because people resisted us,” he said.

Fishermen, however, stoutly defended the ritual. “We observe this ritual every year. We subsist on fishing and strongly believe that our catch will increase if we propitiate the goddess through animal sacrifice. It ensures the safety of the crew on fishing voyages. Not a single boat has capsized because we observe the ritual,” said K. Srinivas, a fisherman from Sandhakuda colony.

“There is nothing wrong in it as the goddess is saving us from possible danger,” he argued. Contacted, Saroj Kanta Choudhury, additional district magistrate, Paradip, said: “We are not aware of any such animal sacrifice. Even so, we will inquire into it.”