Bhubaneswar: Police have set up barricades to enhance safety at Shree Jagannath Temple in Odisha’s pilgrim town of Puri.
The barricades have been put up at key spots around the main structure. This follows an alleged attempt by a man from Jharkhand’s Ranchi to climb the 12th century shrine.
Puri SP Pinak Mishra stated that this measure aims to improve visitor safety at the 12th-century shrine, citing past incidents where devotees risked their lives climbing the 214-ft (65-meter) temple. Security has been tightened at the shrine with personnel and temple servitors trained to monitor devotee movements closely, he added.
Only select servitors from Chunara Nijog are permitted to climb the temple for the daily ‘Dhwajabandha’ ritual, tying sacred flags near the ‘Neela Chakra’ at the top, and the ‘Mahadeepa’ ritual, performed twice monthly.
A massive security lapse was also reported last month when four persons climbed a large mound of garbage adjoining Meghanada Pacheri’s southern wall to gain access into the 12th century shrine, posing questions on the security bandobast during Rath Yatra.