Lord Jagannath Temple To Reopen For Non-Puri Residents From Tomorrow; Know SOPs And Timing Of Darshan

The Lord Jagannath Temple at Puri in Odisha will reopen for devotees coming from outside Puri from tomorrow (August 23).

The darshan of the deities at the 12th-century shrine was discontinued since April 24 this year after the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic hit the State. The temple was also closed for public during the nine-day Ratha Jatra.

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However, following the decline in the number of cases and ease in lockdown restrictions across the State, the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) had decided to reopen Srimandir for devoteesin a phased manner.

In the first phase, only family members of the servitors were allowed access on August 12 and 13. The residents of Puri Municipality were permitted to have darshan of the Holy Trinity from August 16 to August 20 while those coming from outside Puri will be allowed to enter the Srimandir from tomorrow.

Schedule for opening of Shree Jagannath Temple for public:

• The darshan timings will be from 7 am to 7 pm on all days, when temple is open for darshan of the Lords.
• The Temple will remain closed for public darshan on all weekends i.e. Saturdays and Sundays as a measure to contain the spread of Coronavirus disease and in order to sanitize the temple premises.
• The temple will also remain closed on major festive occasions in order to avoid any spike in transmission of COVID-19 on account of huge gathering that are expected on such festive occasions. Accordingly, the temple will remain closed on August 30 (Janmastami) & September 10 (Ganesh Chaturthi). This matter will be reviewed again for the month of October 2021 or as required.

General guidelines or standard operating procedures (SOPs) on account of COVID-19 for all devotees:

• It is mandatory for all devotees to wear masks at all times, inside and outside the temple.
• Devotees should sanitize their hands before entering into the temple.
• Devotees should maintain physical distance at all times as per COVID-19 guidelines and follow Covid appropriate behaviour.
• Devotees are requested not to touch statues or idols inside the temple.
• It is prohibited to take flowers/ bhoga/ deepa inside the temple. There will be big containers placed at the entrance, where such items can be dropped, if being carried by the devotees.
• Lighting of Deepas (Earthen lamps) inside the temple by the devotees will not be permitted at all.
• Chewing of Tobacco/ Paan and spitting inside the temple premises is strictly prohibited. A fine of Rs 500 will be levied for each violation.
• There is a complete ban on carrying Polythene Bags inside the Temple. A fine of Rs 100 will be levied for each violation.
• There will be no partaking of Mahaprasad inside Ananda Bazar and temple premises. However, the devotees can carry Mahaprasad and partake it at their place of residence or any other convenient place.
• There will be a separate queue for differently-abled devotees, for darshan of the Lords.
• Parking of the vehicles will be done only at Jagannatha Ballav Math premise or any other designated place.
• Advice to senior citizen/children/persons having co-morbidities: Persons above 65 years of age, persons with co-morbidities, pregnant women and  children below 10 years are advised not to visit the Temple in view of the prevailing COVID-19 situation.

Guidelines for all devotees who will be visiting the temple from August 23, 2021:

• Queue system will open from 7 am. Devotees will make entry through the barricades opposite to the shoe stand, situated on northeast side of the temple complex.
• All devotees visiting the temple will have to produce the Final Certificate for Covid-19 vaccination (of having taken two doses) or COVID-19 negative certificate (RTPCR) of testing done within 96 hours prior to their visit to the temple.
• All devotees will be required to bring their photo ID Card, namely, Aadhaar/Voter ID etc.
• Devotees will leave their belongings at the designated place outside the temple; produce their ID proof for verification and follow the COVID19 guidelines of hand sanitization and thermal scanning before entering the temple.
• All devotees will enter through Singhadwar. After the Darshan, the exit will be through Uttaradwar.