Puri: Jagannath temple in Odisha’s Puri will be closed for devotees from 10am Tuesday till the completion of the shifting of jewellery and other valuables to the ‘Ratna Bhandar’ or treasury, a statement said.
The Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA), which oversees the functioning of the temple, said Monday that the ornaments and valuables were taken out of the Ratna Bhandar for the repair of the structure.
Since then, those have been stored in a temporary strong room. On Tuesday, the valuables will be shifted back to the treasury as per the guidelines approved by the state government, it said.
“Therefore, September 23, public ‘darshan’ will be suspended from 10 am, and the ‘Natamandap’ (dance hall) and ‘Jagmohan’ (assembly hall) of the temple will be completely vacated. The entry of devotees to the main temple and the ‘Jhulan Mandap’ will be prohibited,” it added.
The SJTA said the devotees interested in receiving ‘Mahaprasad’ can get it at ‘Anand Bazaar’.
“After the completion of the shifting works, the entry restrictions will be lifted,” it said, without specifying how long the restrictions would be in place.
The SJTA appealed to the devotees for cooperation.
PTI
