Following a “slight” improvement in the state’s COVID-19 situation, the Odisha government announced Friday that the Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri will reopen to devotees on February 1. The twelfth-century shrine, however, will be closed on Sundays for sanitization, according to Puri district collector Samarth Verma.
Verma told the media after a meeting of the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) and members of the Chhatisa Nijog (temple servants body) that the decision was made with the livelihood of locals in mind. “The temple is the mainstay of the local economy.” Apart from that, keeping in mind public sentiment and a slight decrease in COVID-19 cases, it has been decided to reopen the temple to the public on February 1,” he said.
The collector also stated that the temple will be closed during festivals due to the local situation. “Devotees will enter the temple through the eastern gate (Lion’s Gate), while Puri residents will enter through the western gate,” Verma explained. The SJTA had closed the shrine from January 10 to January 31 due to a resurgence of COVID-19 cases in the state and the virus infecting some servants and temple employees. Despite the fact that the shrine was closed to devotees, the deities’ routine rituals continued unabated.
According to the district collector, a detailed guideline for public darshan in the temple will be released soon. “It will specify the time for darshan as well as the precautions that must be taken when entering the shrine during the pandemic,” he said.
Earlier, the Shree Jagannath Sena, a local organisation, held a protest in front of the temple, demanding that the shrine be reopened.
Meanwhile, the Puri district administration has withdrawn an order restricting the last rites of bodies coming from other districts and states to Swargadwar, the crematorium here which is considered holy by Hindus, following the improvement in the COVID situation, official sources said.
Prasanta Patnaik