Tara Tarini temple reopens

Berhampur: Hundreds of devotees thronged the much-revered Tara Tarini temple in Ganjam district Monday when it reopened for public after nearly nine months. The temple, located on top of a hillock on the banks of the Rushikulya river, was opened a day after Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik visited it. On the first day, devotees thronged the place of worship since morning to catch a glimpse of goddesses Tara and Tarini and seek their blessings, said Bapuji Rana, one of the priests. “We hope the number increases in the days to come,” he said. The shrine, one of the four Adi Shakti Pithas of the country, was closed for public entry along with other places of worship in mid-April, shortly after the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic struck. Later in the year, the administration allowed re-opening of other religious places, but people were barred from visiting the Tara Tarini shrine owing to the work that was underway in the temple complex.