Ticketing at Srimandir soon

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Puri: The Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) will soon start a ticket system for darshan of the deities, Chief Administrator of Srimandir Pradipta Mohapatra told media persons after a meeting of the Managing Committee held here Monday.
He said tickets would be given three or four times a day, depending on the rush of devotees during Abakasha puja, Ballav, Madhyana dhoop and Chandanlagi. “We are trying to kick start this system at the earliest. But we haven’t decided on the price and how many tickets will be sold in a day yet. The number of devotees for the darshan will be decided by a committee,” Mohapatra said.
While 60 per cent of tickets will be sold online, 35 per cent at the ticket counter of Srimandir Office or Srimandir Information Centre. Five per cent of tickets will be in the hands of the Chief Administrator. The committee being set up to finalise ticketing procedures consists of SJTA chief administrator, Puri Collector, Inspector General of Puri Police (IG), Superintendent of Police (SP) and three members of the managing committee.
Meanwhile, the state government agreed to a proposal of the managing committee to return 4.93 acres to the Govardhan Peeth.
According to Mohapatra, Govardhan Peeth plays a critical role in the rich culture and tradition of the 12th century shrine. The state government has always been giving importance to the Shankaracharya. “As the state government has agreed to the committee’s proposal, we’ll soon have a discussion with the mutt authorities and initiate process for returning 4.93 acres of land to Govardhan Peeth,” Mohapatra said.
SJTA sources said the land upon which Govardhan mutt is positioned as well as its surrounding areas were recorded in the name of Lord Jagannath May 8 last year.
The move faced criticism from several quarters including Govardhan Peeth Shankaracharya Swami Nischalananda Saraswati who expressed displeasure over it. The issue was, however, highlighted in the temple managing committee meeting June 23.