Amidst the growing demand for re-opening of all doors of Lord Jagannath Temple in Puri, Odisha Law Minister Jagannath Saraka on Monday stated that the temple administration will take a call on the matter.
Saraka said that the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) will take a decision keeping in mind the needs of the devotees. The statement of the minister assumes significance owing to the demand of reopening of all gates for the devotees to gain entry for darshan of Lord Jagannath and his sibling deities.
Sachetana Nagarika Mancha, a Citizen's Forum, has also launched a signature campaign to press for the demand in the pilgrim town. The Forum has decided to collect 1 lakh signatures from devotees in support of the reopening of the doors following which the demand letter carrying signatures will be submitted to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
It is pertinent to mention here that at present devotees are only allowed inside Puri Jagannath Temple through the gate near Singhadwara. As a result, there is usually a huge rush and devotees have to wait for long hours to gain entry into the shrine.
“Now Covid pandemic is over and we are demanding re-opening of all gates of the temple. This will help devotees to get darshan, Mahaprasad and other activities without any hassles,” said a servitor.
Binay Das Mohapatra, another servitor said, “The Puri residents earlier used to gain entry through any gates by showing identity cards. But it was stopped due to the Covid pandemic. Everybody will benefit if all four gates of the temple are opened.”