Odisha: Devotees allowed to pay obeisance at Shree Jagannath Temple on all days of week

Bhubaneswar: Devotees from now onwards will be able to pay obeisance to the deities at Shree Jagannath Temple on all the days of a week. The general public will be allowed to pay obeisance to the deities from 6 AM every day. The decision was taken in a meeting of the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) with all stakeholders under the chairmanship of SJTA Chief Administrator, Krishan Kumar today.

It was also decided that all pilgrims will mandatorily wear masks all the time, both inside & outside of the temple. Before entering the temple devotees will sanitize their hands. They will maintain physical distance always as per COVID-19 guidelines.

Devotees are not allowed to touch statues or idols inside the temple. Chewing of tobacco or paan and spitting inside the temple premises is strictly prohibited. A fine of Rs 1,000 will be imposed for violation of the directive.

Also, there is a complete ban on carrying polythene bags inside the temple. A fine of Rs 100 will be levied for each violation.

Lighting of diyas or deepas inside the temple by the devotees will be permitted at designated places only.

In a major decision, devotees will be allowed to partake Mahaprasad inside the Ananda Bazar and temple premises at designated places only.

The special arrangement for the residents of Puri for one hour from 6AM to 7AM is discontinued.

The entry of devotees to the temple in queue system will start from the barricades opposite to the shoe stand. They will enter through Singhadwar. After the darshan, the exit will be allowed through all the ‘dwaras’ except Singhadwar (East Gate).

People who leave their belongings such as shoes, mobiles etc at the shoe stand located in the North-East side of the temple, are advised to exit from the Hasti Dwara (North Gate) for easy and faster retrieval of their belongings, a guideline issued by the SJTA stated.

Night time sanitization of the temple premises will be conducted three times a week.