Declare Shree Jagannath Temple Administration Employees Covid Warriors: Chief Administrator

Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) on Tuesday requested the Odisha government to declare the employees of the administration Covid Warriors. In a letter to the Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) of Odisha Health Department, the Chief Administrator of SJTA, Krishan Kumar requested that the employees should be declared COVID Warriors.

The Chief Administrator highlighted that the employees of temple administration are involved in discharging various duties during this COVID pandemic. These employees manage the COVID positive patients in the Institutional Isolation Facility (lIF). They also assist the medical teams in vaccination of temple servitors and employees. The letter cited that employees of SJTA are also continuously exposed to members of public while assisting in performance of rituals inside and outside the Temple.

The Chief Administrator also informed in the letter that two SJTA employees have already succumbed to Covid-19 infection. He requested that they may be considered for financial assistance as other officials in similar circumstances.