Odisha: Sarala, Gorekhnath Temples To Reopen For Devotees From January 3

Jagatsinghpur: In good news to the devotees, the famous 17^th century Sarala temple and Gorekhnath temple in the district will reopen from January 3 in strict adherence to Covid-19 guidelines.

The decision in this regard was taken in a meeting under the chairmanship of district Collector Saroj Kumar Mishra on Monday.

“A maximum of 500 devotees will be allowed to have darshan between 8AM to 12 AM. However, those aged above 65 years and below 10 years will not be allowed to have darshan of the deities,” stated Mishra.

As a precautionary measure against Covid-19, both the temples will remain closed for the devotees on Makar Sankranti which will be celebrated on January 14. Both the temples witness a huge rush of devotees on the festival occasion.

Devotees from outside districts shall have to produce a Covid-19 negative report before seeking entry into the temple.

“All the Covid-19 guidelines will be strictly adhered in the temple premises. Wearing of face mask, thermal scanning, and sanitisation of hands will be made mandatory for the devotees seeking entry into the temples,” said Mishra.

It is worth mentioning that in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak, the State government had decided to shut all the religious places including temples since March to avoid large gatherings of people.

(Edited by Rashmi Ranjan Mohanty)