Puri: Odisha Minister Suresh Pujari has said a ‘Detailed Report’ has been sought to know why the three gates of the temple have not been reopened after Covid Pandemic.
Shri Pujari was talking to Media after Darshan of Trinity here on 13 June.
“We got the darshan of Lord Jagannath and sought his blessings to protect humankind and give us all strength to serve the people of Odisha in the next five years,” Shri Pujari said.
Opening all the temple gates was a key promise in the BJP’s election manifesto. The previous BJD government had kept the three out of four gates closed since the Covid-19 pandemic.
The devotees were allowed through only Singhadwara (Lion Gate), while the gates located in the three other sides of the temple remained closed causing inconvenience for the devotees.
Earlier after Chief Minister Mohan Majhi announced the State Cabinet decision to open four gates of Srimandir, the Shree Jagannath Managing Committee prepared a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP)for smooth entry and exit of devotees from all the gates.
The devotees were entering and exiting from the Lions Gate (East) and North gate while the West gate is only used by local residents to enter the shrine.
There was adequate deployment of police and JTP, devotees were allowed to enter the shrine from the four gates.
Temporary shoe and mobile stands are being set up near the other three gates.
Adequate arrangements are also being put in place to ensure people’s smooth entry and exit from any of the four gates, said an official.