Odisha CM okays special battalion for security, crowd at Jagannath temple
BHUBANESWAR: In a bid to strengthen security of Shri Jagannath temple at Puri along with streamlining crowd management system and ensuring hassle-free darshan of deities, the state government is set to create a dedicated special security battalion for the shrine.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday approved the creation of a dedicated special security battalion. The decision was taken based on the feedback given by 5T and Nabin Odisha chairman VK Pandian after discussion with various stakeholders.
According to the chief minister’s office (CMO), the battalion has been envisioned to provide security, ensure smooth darshan for the devotees and improve the crowd management measures at Shri Jagannath
temple.
Naveen approves special battalion for Srimandir
The battalion will have the primary responsibility of providing foolproof security to the temple. The personnel of the battalion will be specially trained in crowd management and tourist/devotee facilitation for hassle-free and orderly darshan of the deities in the temple.
The battalion will have around 1,190 personnel and placed under the command and control of Puri SP. The Jagannath temple draws thousands of devotees every day. In the post Covid period, the daily footfall has been estimated to be about 50,000.
However, the number doubles and triples during the weekends and on important religious occasions. The upcoming New Year will also see mammoth crowd running into lakhs.
The anticipated flow of devotees is likely to witness a huge increase after the inauguration of the Srimandir heritage corridor project on January 17.