Bhubaneswar: Following resentments from different factions of the society, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC), Wednesday, withdrew age restrictions and issuing of negative COVID-19 reports on entry of devotees into the Lingaraj temple as the shrine reopened its door for everyone since Covid-19.
Earlier, the civic authority had barred the entry of devotees above 65 years and below 10 years. However, the decision had to be altered after some elderly devotees from outside the state expressed their resentments over the age cap. Moreover, the COVID-19 testing has also been shifted from all to only symptomatic patients.
“Covid-19 negative report was made mandatory for all the devotees who wanted entry into the temple for the first three days. However, now only symptomatic cases would be tested. There will be thermal screening facility to detect the symptomatic cases,” said BMC Commissioner, Prem Chandra Chaudhary.
According to reports, the authorities have also put up barricades outside the temple to ensure smooth darshan and proper implementation of the Covid-19 guidelines. Moreover, temporary kiosks have been put up near the temple for testing Covid-19 free of cost. Visitors without test reports could avail the testing facility before entering the shrine.
Meanwhile, as per sources, about 872 devotees visited the temple, Wednesday. Out of these, about 426 visited the BMC camp for checkup. However, none were tested positive. It can be mentioned that a maximum of 500 devotees are allowed to enter the temple at any given time.
