Puri: Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) on Monday initiated the process for opening all four gates of the 12th century shrine for devotees in Odisha’s pilgrim town of Puri.
As per the decision taken at a high-level meeting held under the chairmanship of Puri district Collector on Sunday, a special team visited the Jagannath Temple on Monday to assess the situation at the shrine, official sources said.
While only the Singhadwar, Lion’s Gate, of the 12th century shrine is now open for visitors, appropriate arrangements will be made for opening the other two gates of the temple. In all probability, all the four gates of the temple will be opened in a day or two, sources said.
It has been decided to erect zigzag barricades and set up shoe stands near the other three gates, while the Singhadwar is already open with these arrangements. Visitors to the temple will have to undergo a security check at the barricade as done at the Singhadwar.
Necessary steps will be taken to enable devotees to have smooth and hassle-free darshan of the sibling deities inside the shrine during special rituals.
It may be noted that devotees have been demanding steps to open all four gates of the temple for smooth darshan.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had also announced in its election manifesto that all the four gates of the 12th century shrine would be opened if it is voted to power in the state. The saffron party, which defeated Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in the recent Assembly elections, is now all set to form the new government in the state.
