Servitors & Staff Will Not Be Allowed To Carry Smartphones Inside Odisha’s Puri Jagannath Temple From Jan 1

Puri: The Chhattisa Nijog of Srimandir on Wednesday decided to impose a complete ban on the use of smartphones inside the temple, following incidents of devotees secretly capturing photos and videos and uploading them on YouTube.

It may be recalled that a restriction on the use of cellphones and cameras in the temple had been imposed in 2017.

Apart from devotees and security personnel, servitors will also not be allowed to carry smartphones inside the shrine, Srimandir chief administrator Vir Vikram Yadav informed.

Only the commander of the Jagannath Temple Police (JTP) can use a smartphone for official communication. The servitors will be allowed to enter Srimandir with conventional keypad phones.

The ban will become effective from January 1, 2023, once the temple managing committee meeting, slated to be held on December 15, approves the resolution.