PURI: Puri MLA Jayant Kumar Sarangi on Wednesday criticised the administration for not opening all three gates of Srimandir which were closed for the Covid-19 pandemic.
Addressing media persons, Sarangi said he took up the issue with the Puri collector and Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) several times in the past but to no avail. “Entry into Srimandir through a single gate is causing major inconvenience to local devotees. Braving the harsh weather, devotees have to stand for hours together in serpentine queues to enter the temple through Simhadwar,” he said.
The BJP MLA asked the administration to open all the temple gates for devotees within a week failing which the BJP will stage agitation and intensify protest. The matter will be raised in the state Assembly in the coming session, he added.
On the day, the convenor of Sachetan Nagarik Manch Prasanna Kumar Dash accompanied by Priyadarshan Pattnaik of Jagannath Sena and president of Jagannath Bhakt Parishad Suryanarayan Rath met Puri collector Samarth Verma and apprised him of the immense difficulties being faced by devotees due to the delay in opening all the temple gates. Earlier, Dash had launched a signature campaign in favour of opening all the gates for devotees.
Collector Verma said he has received pleas on the issue as was the practice before the Covid-19 pandemic. A decision will be taken after discussion with the government, he added.