COVID Curbs Eased, Devotees Flock Puri Jagannath Temple On Sunday

Puri: After two long years, the devotees were allowed to have a darshan of Lord Jagannath inside the temple here on Sunday. The temple was closed on Sundays for sanitisation even after normal darshan was allowed on weekdays during the COVID period.

A large number of devotees, who used to visit the temple town on Sundays were deprived of darshan of Lord Jagannath and his siblings as the shrine was closed for sanitisation.

The decision to reopen the shrine for devotees on a daily basis was taken at the last Chhattisa Nijog meeting after considering the decline in COVID infections.

District Collector Samarth Verma visited the temple to inspect the arrangements like temporary sheds and drinking water from Marchikote Square to the shrine in view of the rising temperature. Voluntary organisations have been roped in to ensure the facilities function smoothly.

The administration has also started helpline numbers for sunstroke affected people, said Verma.

The 12th-century shrine was opened for the public on February 21, after remaining closed for almost 21 days due to a spike in COVID cases during the third wave in January, with strict adherence to COVID protocols from 6 am to 9 pm (Monday to Saturday). Later with the opening of the temple, the devotees were allowed to enter the temple without double vaccination certificates or RT-PCR COVID-negative reports from February 21. However, all such restrictions have been withdrawn except the mandatory mask-wearing, maintaining social distancing, and hand sanitization.