Bhubaneswar: The Paschima Dwara (West Gate) of Jagannath temple in Odisha’s Puri city will be reopened for devotees from July 24 (tomorrow).

This was revealed by Puri district Collector Samarth Verma today.

The West Gate of Srimandir will be reopened for the people of Puri city from tomorrow. The residents of the Holy City can enter the 12th century shrine through the West Gate by producing their identity proof, said the Collector.

Notably, devotees, locals and several people’s representatives had earlier urged the state government and the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) to reopen all the four gates of Srimandir to ensure smooth darshan of the deities.

Earlier, devotees were allowed to enter and exit Srimandir through its four gates. A few years ago, the SJTA laid a set of new guidelines and asked the devotees to enter the shrine through the Lions’ Gate. The three other gates of the temple were virtually closed for the people. This has caused inconveniences for the devotees as they are being forced to wait in queues to visit the shrine, said a local.