This resident of eastern India has started to perform a bizarre ritual he calls "water yoga" that he hopes will save himself and the rest of the world from COVID-19.

Sudam Sahu, a 47-year-old resident of Khurda in the state of Odisha, floats on his back while balancing a Hindu religious symbol on his stomach and a burning lamp on his forehead.

Sahu drifts with the current for miles while singing and saying prayers before walking back to the village.

“I pray to Lord Jagannath, maa Bhagawati and other gods through yoga to make them eradicate coronavirus," Sahu said.

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

A resident of a village near Khurda in eastern India, has begun to do ‘water yoga’ to save the world from the Covid 19 or Corona virus as it is popularly known here.

Sudam Sahu, 47, an expert in swimming and yoga, floats on a local river lying on his back. He keeps a miniature replica of the famous Jagannath chariot on his stomach and a burning lamp on his forehead.

He sings prayers with fellow villagers for a while, who then cut him loose in water.

Sahu drifts with the current for a few miles singing and praying alone and then walks back to the village.

Sahu said: “I pray to Lord Jagannath, maa Bhagawati and other gods through yoga to make them eradicate Corona virus.”

He also wishes to set a Guinness record with his water yoga prowess.