Cuttack: The management of Dhabaleswar temple at Athagarh in Odisha’s Cuttack district on Sunday announced the schedule of rituals on Shivratri.
According to sources, the officials of district administration held a preparatory meeting with those of the temple management regarding rituals and arrangements for the Maha Shivratri scheduled to be celebrated on February 18.
As per the decision taken at the meeting, the main doors of the Dhabaleswar temple will be opened to the devotees to offer puja from 3 am on Maha Shivratri. The Mahadeepa will be raised atop the temple between 1.30 am and 2 am on the same night.
The sources said the district administration will deploy 15 platoons of police force under the supervision of 7 DSPs and an additional SP during the Jagara Jatra to maintain law and order and crowd management.
Cuttack collector Bhabani Shankar Chayani told the media that the hanging bridge to the shrine will remain closed during the festival. The devotees can go to the temple on the fair weather bridge constructed for pedestrian use.
It may be noted that prohibitory order under Section 144 was clamped for the repair of the hanging bridge at the shrine for an indefinite period on November 1 last year following the boat tragedy at Morbi in Gujarat. However, the Dhabaleswar Temple was reopened to the public on January 11.
