BHUBANESWAR: Amid plans for reopening of Puri Srimandir from December 23, the Lingaraj temple in the Capital city will open its doors to the devotees and pilgrims from the 27th of this month. The 11th century shrine has been closed for the last nine months due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Announcing the decision, Commissioner of the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) Prem Chandra Chaudhary said in the first phase from December 27 to 31, only servitors and their family members will be allowed into the temple. The temple will remain shut for darshan on January 1 and 2 to avoid large congregation of devotees because of the New Year.
For three days thereafter, residents of Bhubaneswar will be allowed into the temple. The temple will be finally be thrown open for all public from January 6. However, the entry and darshan will be strictly regulated in view of the continuing pandemic. Only those with a Covid-19 negative certificate will be allowed inside the shrine. The Covid-19 test should have done by person at most 48 hours prior to visiting the temple.
A screening camp will set up near the temple to facilitate testing for the devotees. The screening camp will remain open from 7 am to 10 pm every day, Chaudhary said.He added that a maximum 500 devotees will be allowed inside the temple at any given point of time to ensure proper implementation of Covid-19 guidelines.
Following Lingaraj, all other temples and religious institutions in Bhubaneswar will also reopen from January 3. Chaudhary said the management of the shrines will have to apply for permission to reopen by submitting an undertaking to the BMC about the measures taken for adherence to Covid-19 guidelines. The management will have to mention the area in which the institutions are located and the number of devotees to be allowed inside at a time, he said.