Security beefed up in Puri for Snana Purnima

Puri: Massive security arrangements have been made by Puri police and Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) for Debasnana Purnima slated for Friday.

In view of the huge footfall, special emphasis is being given to crowd control and traffic management. A three-tier security system has been put in place to ensure that the devotees do not touch the deities during the grand bath ritual. To sensitise the public in this regard, posters and banners in Odia, English, Hindi and Bengali have been put up at major locations of the town.

Altogether 45 platoons of police personnel, besides more than 200 senior
police officers, will be deployed on the occasion to ensure safety of devotees and for hassle-free darshan. “Keeping in mind the ruckus witnessed last year after some devotees touched the deities on the Snana Mandap, adequate number of CCTV cameras have been installed at several locations near the temple to closely monitor the movement of servitors and devotees,” said IG (central range) Soumendra Priyadarshi.

Darshan of Jagannath and his siblings will be open for public from 7 pm to 9.30 pm. The Bahuda Pahandi will be conducted between 10.30 pm and 1.30 am.