Residents of Puri city will be allowed to enter the temple through the western gate, while outsiders will be allowed to enter through the eastern gate.
Highlight
- The temple authorities had closed the temple from January 10 to January 31.
- Residents of Puri city will be allowed to enter the temple through the western gate
- In view of the local situation, temples will remain closed on festivals.
District Collector Samarth Verma on Friday said that the world famous Lord Jagannath temple in Puri will reopen for all devotees with immediate effect from next Tuesday, February 1.
The temple authorities had closed the temple from January 10 to January 31 in view of the resurgence of COVID-19 cases in the state and some servants and temple staff contracting the virus. Though the temple was closed to the devotees, there was no hindrance in the regular rituals of the deities.
Residents of Puri city will be allowed to enter the temple through the western gate, while outsiders will be allowed to enter through the eastern gate. Verma said the daily opening and closing times for devotees at the temple would be adjusted as per the city’s night curfew rules. He said that the temple would remain closed on festivals in view of the local situation.
“The local economy is mostly dependent on the temple. Also keeping in view the sentiments of the people and the slight drop in COVID-19 cases, it has been decided to reopen the temple for public from February 1,” he said. The 12th century temple will be closed for sanitization on Sunday.
“The devotees will be allowed entry through the eastern gate (the lion’s gate) of the temple, while the local people of Puri will go inside the temple through the western gate,” the collector said. The District Collector said that a detailed guideline would be issued soon for the public to visit the temple. He said that it will mention the time of darshan and the precautions required to enter the temple during the pandemic.
(with PTI inputs)
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