The Orissa High Court while hearing a PIL filed by Madhusudan Pujapanda on Thursday directed the district administration, temple administration and committee to take steps for the smooth and peaceful darshan of the deity at Alarnath temple at Brahmagiri in Puri by the devotees.
The district and temple administrations have been asked to make special arrangements for the early darshan of the deity by old, physically disabled and differently-abled persons, women and children. They have also been asked to make arrangements for battery-operated vehicles from the parking place to the shrine.
The State’s apex court also laid emphasis on the proper regulation of sale and eating of prasad inside the premises to avoid gathering of crowd.
Similarly, the State’s apex court has also mentioned in its order that the darshan time and closing time of the darshan be published in print media and broadcast in electronic media on a daily basis for the devotees.
In its order, the High Court has directed that devotees should be allowed to have darshan from the Argali area till the end of the festival.
And the district and temple administrations have been directed to make sure that no servitor of the temple is allowed to take devotees beyond the Argali area to have a close darshan of the deity.
Besides asking the administrations to check the ceiling installed inside the shade at regular intervals for the safety of devotees, the apex court has also asked them to install CCTV cameras to monitor the movements of the devotees inside and outside of the temple.
The district and temple administrations have also been directed to make arrangements for mobile toilets for the convenience of the devotees.
Notably, during Anasara period when Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra are down with fever after their ceremonial bath on Snana Purnima, devotees make a beeline at Alarnath temple at Brahmagiri to have a darshan of Lord Alarnath.
It is believed that Lord Jagannath manifests as Lord Alarnath and the darshan of Lord Alarnath brings the same blessings and fortune as those after the darshan of Lord Jagannath.