Puri: In accordance with a decision taken at a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Secretary Manoj Ahuja at Lok Seva Bhawan, the Shree Jagannatha Temple in Puri will remain closed to devotees during the intervening night of December 31 and January 1.

As per the decision, the 12th-century shrine will remain closed from 11 pm on December 31 till 2 am on January 1.
The meeting was attended by Director General of Police Y.B. Khurania, senior officials of the Home Department and the Puri Superintendent of Police.

The decision follows a letter written by Mahesh Kumar Sahoo, a member of the temple’s managing committee, to the Shree Jagannatha Temple Administration (SJTA) and the Odisha government. In the letter, Sahoo described the practice of keeping the temple open during the New Year midnight hours as “non-Sanatani” and religiously inappropriate.

He stated Mahaprabhu Shree Jagannath is the Aradhya Devata of Sanatani Hindus and all rituals at the temple are conducted strictly in accordance with Sanatan scriptures. However, he noted in recent years, opening the temple at midnight on January 1 had become a practice that, according to him, runs contrary to established religious norms.

Sahoo also pointed out the practice has drawn objections from religious leaders and organisations, who have expressed their resentment over the issue year after year.