PURI: After remaining closed for nearly four months due to the second Covid wave, the Srimandir will reopen for devotees from August 13. The Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) on Wednesday, August 11, 2021, issued a standard operating procedure (SOP) for the reopening of the 12th-century shrine in a phased manner.
Like previous year, temple servitors and their family members would have darshan of the Trinity on the first two days on August 13 and 14. They will enter and exit through any of the four gates and need not show any vaccination or RT-PCR negative certificate. The temple will remain closed for devotees on Sunday.
From August 16 to 20, residents of Puri town would be allowed to have darshan of the deities. Residents of all 32 wards will be issued tokens mentioning time and date for entry into the temple in a phased manner. They will have to show Aadhaar card at the shrine’s main entrance - the Lion’s Gate before entry.
Darshan will be stopped for the weekend shutdown and resume from August 23 for all devotees. The darshan will begin from 7 am till 7 pm everyday except the weekend shutdown. Devotees intending to enter the temple will have to furnish complete vaccination certificate or RT-PCR test negative report obtained within 96 hours prior to darshan at the entry point.
All visitors will have to wear double masks, maintain social distance, sanitise hands and enter the temple in queue through the Lion’s Gate and exit through the North Gate. They are prohibited to carry flowers, offerings, light dias and touch other deities in the temple complex. Restrictions have also been imposed on dining at Ananda Bazaar, the market for Mahaprasad.
Separate queue will be made to facilitate differently-abled devotees enter the temple for darshan. Spitting inside the temple complex will attract a fine of Rs 500 while those carrying polythene bags will be imposed a penalty of Rs 100.Srimandir was closed for devotees from April 24.
