Trial Run Of Queue System With Barricades & Ramps At Puri Jagannath Temple Before New Year

Bhubaneswar: The proposed queue system for darshan at Shree Jagannath Temple in Odisha’s Puri town will be implemented on December 30 and 31 on a trail basis, Law Minister Prithviraj Harichandan informed on Sunday.

“We will start making the changes from December 27 or 28. The trial run will be conducted for two days — December 30 and 31. The queue system will be implemented from January 1, 2025, which will allow everyone will be able to have darshan of sibling deities in a hassle-free manner,” he said after a review meeting with the temple administration.

The devotees will enter the 12th-century shrine via Singhadawar and then take the ‘Sata Pahacha’, and exit through ‘Ghanti Dwara’ and ‘Garada Dwara’. “Women and senior citizens will take the ‘Ghanti Dwara’ and male devotees leave the temple premises through ‘Garada Dwara’,” the Minister said.

He added that dedicated barriers are being put up for women, children, differently-abled, and senior individuals visiting the temple, to ensure convenience.

Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) chief administrator Arabinda Padhee had earlier said that arrangements are being put in place to provide devotees better facilities of viewing the deities at the shrine. “Separate barricades will be set up at ‘Natamandap’ (dance hall) along with a ramp system and special arrangement for differently-abled persons, as part of the move,” he said.

The plan includes six rows of collapsible wooden barricades with ramp system in the ‘Natamandap’.

He further added that special arrangements will also be put in place at ‘Ananda Bazaar’ to ensure a smooth process of obtaining the prasad.

The SJTA has also decided to implement a dress code for Supakar servitors, who sell the ‘Mahaprasad’, from December 25. They will wear saffron-coloured uniforms. The decision was taken to prevent unauthorised servitors from selling Mahaprasad, dry ‘prasad’, ‘khaja’ and other items at Ananda Bazaar.