Puri: Thousands of devotees flocked to Shree Gundicha Temple in Odisha’s Puri on Friday for ‘Sandhya Darshan’ on the auspicious occasion of ‘Navami Tithi’.
It is held on the second last day of the festival at the temple, allowing devotees to offer obeisance to the sibling deities of Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra and Lord Jagannath on the Adap Mandap before Bahuda Yatra.
“Devotees are entering the temple in queues and the process has been continuing smoothly since early morning. All arrangements have been made keeping the devotees’ safety in mind. People are being advised to follow the norms,” said DGP Y B Khurania, who was present in the pilgrim town to oversee the arrangements.
The temple will be shut for devotees from 6 pm for conducting rituals and detailed preparations for the return journey of the Lords.
According to sources, about 70 platoons of police force will be deployed in the pilgrim town to ensure smooth traffic flow on Bahuda Yatra and Suna Besha, which will be celebrated on Saturday and Sunday respectively. An independent drone surveillance system is also being implemented for effective crowd management.
Odisha Police is also planning to send bulk SMSes, providing real-time information to the people travelling to Puri as waiting time is expected with vehicular movement regulated and diverted to different parking places via Malatipatpur, Hotel Sterling and Talabania.
A detailed traffic advisory has already been issued for travellers from Brahmagiri, Konark and Bhubaneswar.
Also Read: Puri Police Issue Traffic Advisory For Bahuda Yatra & Suna Besha; Check Details
Learning a lesson from inordinate delay in drawing the chariots on 27 June amid a surge in devotees, the administration is also planning to restrict the number of cordon pass holders during Bahuda Yatra to facilitate better crowd management around the chariots as suggested by Chief Minister Mohan Majhi during a security review meeting earlier this week.
These passes grant privileged access to the inner cordon area surrounding the chariots. Although the Puri administration has not yet divulged the exact number of passes issued to various stakeholders, including government officials, political figures, temple servitors, media, administrative staff, volunteers, and cultural performers, sources indicate that it was doubled from 2,000 to 4,000 this year.
“We will enforce rigorous restrictions on cordon pass usage during Bahuda. Access to the cordon area will be strictly limited to persons whose presence is deemed essential for the ceremony’s conduct,” Puri SP Pinak Mishra told TOI.
Meanwhile, police also conducted hotel checks across the city to maintain law and order and ensure the safety of all guests. A 24×7 helpline numbers – 6370967100/06752-232551 has also been released for the citizens in case they need any assistance.