PURI: A sea of devotees thronged Srimandir to seek blessings of Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra, and Devi Subhadra on the first day of the New Year. Braving the chilly weather, hundreds spent the night on Badadanda, eagerly awaiting the temple doors to open.
The temple opened by 12.42 am and devotees were allowed inside the temple through the barricade after the priests performed Mangal Arati, Mailum, Tadap Lagi and Abakash nitees of the deities and offered Gopal bhog. The darshan of the holy Trinity was allowed by 12.55 am.
“Devotees were allowed inside in batches. The barricade had ten lines of devotees. Every hour about 18,000-20,000 devotees entered the temple,” informed the chief administrator of Shri Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) Ranjan Kumar Das.
Special arrangements were in place to facilitate the entry of the weak, old, children and differently-abled devotees for darshan besides creation of an ambulance corridor along the Badadanda, he added.
In accordance with the new regulations emphasising on dress code and restriction on tobacco-related products within the temple premises that came into effect from Monday, most devotees were seen adhering to norms.
In anticipation of a surge in devotees, district administration authorities extended barricades by a kilometre from the Municipal Market Square to the Simhadwar of Srimandir.
The newly-introduced 84-metre air-conditioned shed within the barricades, provided rest area for around 4,000 devotees during the ritual closures in the temple. Scores of volunteers were seen distributing drinking water bottles among the resting devotees.
Tourists Subhendu Ray from Chhattisgarh and Dusmant Nayak from Jharkhand praised the exceptional arrangements, with Nayak emphasising the seamless experience from entering the barricades to witnessing the Trinity.
A total of 82 platoons of police force were deployed for the smooth management of crowd in the city, said SP K Vishal Singh, who has recently been promoted to the post of DIG with effect from Monday.
Collector Samarth Verma and other senior officers of the temple looked after the overall arrangements.
Among the important personalities who visited the temple on the day included Governor Raghubar Das.
While hotels and guesthouses across the town have been illuminated, life guards are keeping vigil at Puri beach to prevent untoward incidents while four police aid posts were set up to help visitors besides patrolling units, Singh added.
Apart from Jagannath temple, devotees also thronged Mangala Temple in Kakatpur, Siruli Mahavir, Sidhamahavir, and other shrines in an around the town.
Gupteswar witnesses huge gathering
Jeypore: Over 5,000 visitors thronged the Gupteswar shrine on New Year day to offer prayers. From early morning, visitors from Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh started making a beeline from the foothill of the caved temple to have a glimpse of the 8-ft long Shivalinga on the first day of the year and the crowd continued till late in the evening.
A special ritual was conducted in the temple for universal peace and tranquillity. Even, the banks of Saveri river in Gupteswar drew huge crowd throughout the day. The temples of Koraput, Jeypore, Kotpad and Sunabeda too witnessed huge devotees on the day.
On the other hand, churches in Jeypore, Kunduli, Kotpad were well-decorated to usher in the New Year. Special midnight prayers were also offered.