Srimandir to reopen February 1

Puri: The Odisha government Friday announced the reopening of the Shree Jagannath Temple here for devotees from February 1 keeping in view the livelihood of locals and ‘slight’ improvement in the coronavirus situation in the state.

The twelfth century shrine will, however, remain closed Sundays for sanitisation, Puri District Collector Samarth Verma told reporters after a meeting of Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) and members of the Chhatisa Nijog (temple servitors’ body).

“The local economy is mostly dependent on the temple. This apart, keeping in view the sentiments of the people and slight decline in COVID-19 cases, it has been decided to reopen the temple for public from February 1,” he said.

He said that the temple will be closed on festivals keeping in view the local situation.

“The devotees will be allowed entry into the temple from its eastern gate (Lion’s Gate) while the local people of Puri will go inside the shrine through the western gate,” the collector said.

The SJTA had closed the shrine from January 10 till January 31 in view of the resurgence of COVID19 cases in the state and some servitors and temple employees getting infected by the virus.

PNN