Puri: Around 4 lakh devotees from across the state and outside visited Srimandir and paid obeisance to Lord Jagannath on the New Year’s Day.
The Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) and the district administration made special arrangement to facilitate hassle-free darshan to the devotees.
According to sources, the Mangal Alati ritual of the presiding deities was performed at 1.35 am and the deities were offered Prasad at 5.55 am.
The devotees were allowed to enter into the shrine soon after the completion of Mangal Alati. All the devotees entered the shrine in queues through the Lions’ Gate and paid obeisance to the presiding deities from the Bhitara Katha (inner cordon) by passing through Baishi Pahacha, Kirtan Chakada and Satapahacha.
The devotees were advised to exit the shrine though the West Gate, North Gate and South Gate.
“Hundreds of devotees started queuing up at the Lions’ Gate soon after midnight. They had the opportunity to collect Mahaprasad after the completion of Bhogmandap ritual around 10am,” said an official of SJTA.
The district administration had earlier erected barricades at the Lions’ Gate to manage the huge crowd. As many as 30 platoons of police personnel were deployed in and around Srimandir to ensure smooth darshan for devotees.
“All the rituals were performed as per the schedule on the New Year’s Day. Devotees had a pleasant visit of the shrine,” said SJTA chief administrator PK Mohapatra.
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