Devotees Throng Jagannatha Temple as Covid Negative Report Lifted

BY: SUN STAFF CORRESPONDENT


[ Photo: Sampradaya Sun ]


Jan 22, 2021 — JAGANNATHA PURI, ORISSA —

All roads led to the Jagannatha Temple in Puri as the government on Thursday eased the curb of carrying Covid negative reports to enter the shrine. By 5 p.m., the temple already met the daily cap of allowing 30,000 devotees for darshan of Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra and goddess Subhadra.

Devotees, who had been anxiously waiting to have darshan like normal days before the outbreak of the pandemic, could not hold their tears. “I am very poor and could not have afforded the Covid test to ensure an entry in the temple with my negative report. I waited till this day and had a clear darshan without any hassle,” said Sandhyarani Pradhan, who sells flowers near Market Square in Puri.


[ Photo: Sampradaya Sun ]


Elderly and differently abled visitors also offered prayers with ease by entering the temple in a separate queue. The police personnel offered assistance to the needy and facilitated their hassle-free darshan.

The temple, which was shut for devotees since March 20 last year, reopened on December 23 with only families of servitors being allowed into the temple till December 25. Devotees from the Puri municipality area were allowed entry from December 26 till 31. While the shrine was shut on January 1 and 2 this year, it was thrown open to all devotees with Covid negative reports from January 3 onwards.


[ Photo: Sampradaya Sun ]


“We did not face any difficulty in handling more than 30,000 devotees on Thursday as we already prepared a contingency plan. Adequate parking places were earmarked to regulate the traffic. The crowd was managed properly in compliance with the Covid-19 guidelines. Thermal screening of the devotees was conducted before letting them in the temple,” Puri District Collector Samarth Verma said.


[ Photo: Sampradaya Sun ]


Police set up a helpdesk outside the temple and collected feedback from the visitors. “We interacted with the devotees and took their feedback about their experience and our arrangements. We received positive feedback,” Puri Superintendent of Police Kanwar Vishal Singh said.

As decided earlier, the devotees were allowed to only purchase Mahaprasad from Ananda Bazaar, but were prevented from consuming it inside. The temple will remain closed on Sundays for sanitization of its premises.


[ Photo: Sampradaya Sun ]


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