Puri Jagannath Temple to remain closed for devotees every Sunday

Puri: In view of rising cases of COVID-19, Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) has decided to close the shrine for devotees every Sunday starting next week, SJTA chief Krishan Kumar said Sunday.

As a part of an exercise to check the spread of COVID-19, the temple premises will be sanitised every Sunday. And for a smooth sanitisation drive, the temple will remain out of bounds for devotees.

Notably, it was already decided at Chhatisa Nijog meeting held March 23 that devotees’ entry into the shrine would be restricted for carrying out sanitization inside the temple premises. But the date from which the restriction would be clamped was not decided. Among others, the meeting was attended by district Collector and the SP. The SJTA had also given permission for holding of rituals of Agniutsav at the shrine March 27 and Dola Purnima March 28.

Notably, the Jagannath Temple was closed since March 20, 2020 after the outbreak of COVID-19. After a gap of nine months, the temple doors were opened to devotees December 23. And from January, the temple was closed every Sunday to carry out sanitation inside the shrine. The SJTA lifted the restrictions February 10.

PNN