Puri: The Lord Jagannath Temple in Puri will remain out of bounds for devotees today for undertaking disinfection process in the premises of the 12th century shrine. However, the daily nitis at the temple will continue by the servitors as usual.
“The Temple will remain open on all days of the Week except Sundays. This will be as per the schedule of niti on different days. The public darshan of Lords will start latest by 6 AM, unless notified,” read a revised Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) released by the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) on Saturday to keep the Covid-19 infections at bay.
SJTA chief Krishan Kumar on Saturday said that after consultation with the Chhattisa Nijog (temple servitors body), it has been decided to keep the temple doors close for devotees on Sundays.
As per the latest SOP, all the guidelines issued by the State Government with respect to restrictions on persons coming from other states shall be scrupulously followed.
There will be complete sanitization of the temple premises on every Sunday. Night time sanitization of the Temple premises will be conducted twice a week, after closure of temple for public darshan, said the SJTA in the SOP.
Meanwhile, sources said that the SJTA had made arrangement for vaccination of servitors and their family members as they come in contact with people visiting the temple from across the country and abroad.
On the other hand, in view of the fresh resurgence of Covid-19 cases, the Puri Police has formed five teams which will ensure people visiting Srimadir wear masks mandatorily.
(Edited By Rashmi Ranjan Mohanty)