The famous Jagannath temple in Puri reopened after four months on Mondayfor people outside of the pilgrim town if they were carrying a negative RT-PCR report or Covid-19 vaccination certificate.
The 12th century temple in Odisha’s Puri was closed from April 24 after Covid cases in the second wave of the infection started rising in the state, also resulting in the famous Rath Yatra in June being held without the presence of devotees for the second year in a row.
“The darshan timing in the temple has been fixed from 7 am to 8 pm on 5 days a week except for Saturdays and Sundays. This apart, entry of the public into the temple will also remain restricted on the occasion of Janmashtami. We expect around 15,000-20,000 footfalls every day,” said Dr Krishan Kumar, chief administrator of the Jagannatha Temple.
He said devotees will be allowed entry into the temple only if they are carrying a certificate showing they are fully-vaccinated or a negative RT-PCR test report, not older than 96 hours. Devotees will also be required to bring their photo ID such as Aadhaar or voter card.
A devotee from Bargarh district said she was too elated following the darshan [viewing the divine] of the trinity at the temple. “I had never imagined that I would [finally] get to see the Lord and was waiting for the opportunity,” she said.
{{/usCountry}}A devotee from Bargarh district said she was too elated following the darshan [viewing the divine] of the trinity at the temple. “I had never imagined that I would [finally] get to see the Lord and was waiting for the opportunity,” she said.
{{/usCountry}}All devotees are allowed entry through the Singhadwar and to exit through the Uttaradwar of the temple. Barricades have been installed to make sure devotees maintain physical distancing and as many as eight kiosks have been set up to facilitate proper sanitisation.
Temple officials said devotees cannot touch statues or idols inside the premises and have been asked not to take offerings like flowers/ bhoga/ diyas inside the Temple. There will be big containers placed at the entrance, where such items can be dropped, if being carried by the devotees.
Chewing of Tobacco, Paan and spitting inside the temple premises has been strictly prohibited and a fine of ₹500/- will be levied for each violation.
Puri police chief Kanwar Vishal Singh said around 12 platoons of police force have been deployed in and outside the temple. Singh said devotees have been urged to submit their feedback on police service at the temple either by submitting a form or through online QR code scanning systems installed at parking lots and other places.
The temple is being reopened at a time when Covid cases are on a decline in the state. On Monday, Odisha reported 761 new cases in the preceding 24 hours with a Test Positivity Rate (TPR) of 1.25%. Out of the 761 cases, 101 are children below 18 years of age. Khurda district recorded 289 fresh infections- the highest in the state, followed by Cuttack (117) and Balasore (52).
Apart from the Jagannath temple, other shrines in the state including Ram mandir in Bhubaneswar, Akhandalamani temple in Bhadrak as well as mosques and churches are being allowed to reopen. The Lingaraj temple in Bhubaneswar will reopen for devotees from September 1.