Jagannath Temple’s Simhadwara Area Declared ‘No Parking, No Begging Zone’

Puri: The district administration has declared the area around Simhadwara (main entrance gate) of the Jagannath temple a “no parking zone” beginning Sunday, taking note of how the rush of vehicular traffic and other trading establishments were causing inconvenience to devotees in entering the temple.

Puri collector Jyoti Prakash Dash told journalists the district administration took the decision as part of reform measures directed by the Supreme Court to enable devotees to have a smooth darshan of the deities.

“We have noticed that devotees coming to Puri in thousands every day have difficulty queuing up to enter the temple because of the traffic rush,” Dash said. “Apart from this, the area around Simhadwara is squeezed by the temporary shops. Taking all these into account, these shops have been shifted to other areas of Puri and the area has been declared a no-parking zone.”

The collector also said efforts were on to regulate the rush of devotees during peak hours in the morning and afternoon. “We have decided to enforce 24-hour traffic arrangement in the Simhadwara area,” he said.

Dash said the area has also been declared a “no begging zone”. The district administration has taken adequate steps to shift beggars from the Simhadwara area to other places.

The action initiated by the district administration has been welcomed by devotees and the temple servitors alike.