Bhubaneswar: Ahead of ‘Bada Osa’ on Wednesday, security has been tightened at Dhabaleswar Temple in Athagarh block of Cuttack.
Preparations for ‘Gaja Bhoga’ offering is also underway. The bhog will be offered to the Lord at midnight, as per the tradition, and distributed among the devotees the following day.
Elaborate security measures, includes CCTV cameras at strategic locations in and around the temple premises, have been put in place by the Cuttack district administration to ensure hassle-free darshan.
To maintain law and order and manage the crowd, 25 platoons of forces have also been deployed.
The sanctum sanctorum of the temple was opened at 3:00 am on Tuesday, following which ‘Mangala Aarti’ was done. An offering of ‘Khichdi’ was made to the presiding deity and devotees were later allowed inside the temple for darshan, on Panchuka.
Meanwhile, thousands of Habishyalis and devotees also thronged Jagannath Temple in Puri for a glimpse of ‘Bankachuda Besha’ of the sibling deities on the day two of Panchuka on Tuesday. Barricades were installed by the Puri district administration to ensure smooth darshan of the Lords.