Sambalpur: After a wait of around nine months following the outbreak of COVID-19, the Sambalpur district administration decided Friday afternoon in favour of reopening the 16th century old shrine Samaleswari temple in this city for devotees from January 3.
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A detailed standard operating procedure (SOP) for strict compliance of COVID-19 safety protocols will be issued very soon for the visitors as well as the temple servitors, an official source informed.
A meeting in this regard was chaired by Commissioner of Sambalpur Municipal Corporation (SMC) Aniruddha Pradhan. Representatives of different religious institutions also attended the meeting.
Notably, Maa Samaleswari is the presiding deity of the temple and is the most revered goddess of undivided Sambalpur district.
The ‘shakti peetha’ was pronounced closed and devotees were not allowed to have darshan of the deity since March 23 this year.
The temple Trust Board had of late convened a meeting after the plan to reopen Puri Jagannath temple was in the air.
PNN
