Puri: A three-tier security will be put in place in Puri for Nagarjuna Besha of Lord Jagannath scheduled on November 27, Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) said on Tuesday.
Briefing mediapersons after presiding over a meeting with the members of the Jagannath Temple Managing Committee and the Chhattisha Nijog in presence of Puri Collector Balwant Singh, SJTA chief administrator Krishan Kumar said that the sevayats will bring the Nagarjuna outfit items of the Lords from Chakrakot Jaga to the temple at 2 am. Later, the Simhari sevayats will begin the Nagarjuna Besha Lagi of the Lord at 4 am, which will be completed by 7 am.
However, he maintained that the devotees will be deprived of the Nagarjuna Besha of the Lord this year in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.
He said that while the sevayats will be allowed to enter the temple, special measures have been taken to stop the entry of the outsiders in the disguise of a sevayat. Apart from this, a team of police will be engaged to check the mobile phone of the sevayats, he added.
Kumar further said that considering the disputes among the sevayat bodies, the meeting decided that the Lagi Besha of the Lord will be kept at the museum.
To a question on whether the Lord Patitapaban will have the Nagarjuna Besha, he said according to the record of rights and the tradition of the temple, there will be no Nagarjuna Besha of the Lord.
Asked whether the devotees will be allowed darshan of Lord Patitapaban at the Simhadwara of the temple, the Puri collector said that the devotees can do so as there is no restriction.
On the security arrangements, he said the talks are on with the police and the temple administration for the restrictions to be imposed around the Jagannath Temple on November 27.
