Berhampur: After Srimandir in Puri and Lingaraj Temple in Bhubaneswar, the famous Taratarini temple in Purusottampur of Ganjam district is all set throw open its door to devotees from January 3, 2021, informed Collector, Vijay Amruta Kulange on Monday.
Announcing the news that will bring smile on faces of all the devotees and servitors of the temple alike, Kulange said, "After discussing the matter with all the servitors, we have decided to reopen the temple from January 3 next year."
"We have convened a meeting of all the stakeholders including servitors, police officials and temple trustees to decide on the modalities and draft an SoP for darshan before the grand reopening of the shrine," said Kulange.
Praising the servitors for their diligence and patience during the lockdown, Kulange said, "I would like to thank all the servitors for helping the administration to fight the pandemic. It is great relief that no servitor till now has tested positive for Covid-19."
Asked about the restrictions on New Year celebrations, Kulange informed that the Gopalpur beach will remain shut on 31 December and 1 January to keep people from going into huge gatherings.
"We have prohibited celebration of 'Zero Night' in the open anticipating huge crowd in the beach. Even now, we are receiving almost 5000 tourists a day at Gopalpur beach. The number will increase manifold in the new year raising the fear of COVID19 spread," he said.
It is worth mentioning here that, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had approved the redevelopment plan of the periphery of Taratarini Temple in February 2020. This being a landmark project in the district, the CM had directed officials to complete the development work within the stipulated time.
However, the Coronavirus outbreak and subsequent restrictions like lockdown and shutdown have already delayed the project.
(Edited By Ramakanta Biswas)