Puri: Chief Administrator of Shree Jagannatha Temple Administration (SJTA) Dr Krishan Kumar has issued revised Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for smoothening the darshan of the Lord Jagannath in Srimandir, Puri.
This fresh SOP will come into force with effect from October 15. The darshan timings will be from 7 AM to 9 PM on all days, when the temple is open for darshan of the Lords. The temple will remain closed for public Darshan on all Sundays as a measure to contain the spread of CoronaVirus disease and in order to sanitize the temple premises.
The temple will also remain closed on major festive occasions in order to avoid any spike in transmission of COVID-19 on account of the large gathering that is anticipated on such festive occasions, Dr Kumar said in the SOP.
Accordingly, the temple will remain closed for darshan of Lords on October 15 (Dussehera) and from 12 noon onwards on October 16 (Bhasani). However, the temple will remain open on October 20 (Kumar Purnima) for darhsan.
In the month of November, the Shrine will remain closed for darshan on November 4 (Deepavali), November 15 (Bada Ekadashi) and November 19 (Kartika Purnima).
It is mandatory for all devotees to wear Masks at all times, inside & outside the temple and devotees should sanitize their hands before entering into the temple.
As per the SOP, all devotees should maintain physical distance at all times as per COVID-19 guidelines and follow Covid appropriate behavior and they have been requested not to touch statues or Idols inside the temple.
Lighting of deepas inside the temple at the designated places by the devotees will be permitted. It is also permitted to carry flowers/bhoga inside the temple but such items shall be placed at pre-designated places as earmarked by the temple administration.
A fine of Rs 500 will be levied for chewing of tobacco / Paan and spitting inside the temple premises, he warned.
The Temple Administration has banned carrying polythene bags inside the temple. A fine of Rs 100 will be levied for each violation.
Similarly, there will be no partaking of Mahaprasad inside Ananda Bazar & temple premises. However, the devotees can carry Mahaprasad & partake it at their place of residence or any other convenient place.
There will be a separate queue for differently-abled devotees, for darshan of the Lords. Parking of the vehicles will be done only at Jagannatha Ballabh Math premise or any other designated place.
The SJTA advised senior citizens, children, persons having co-morbidities, pregnant women not to visit the temple in view of the prevailing Covid situation.
Queue system will open from 7 AM. Devotees will make entry through the barricades opposite to the Shoe stand, situated on the North-East side of the temple complex. All devotees will enter through Singhadwar. After the Darshan, the exit will be through Uttaradwar.
The prevailing Covid-19 restrictions will continue. All devotees visiting the Temple will have to produce the final certificate for Covid-19 vaccination (of having taken two Doses) or COVID-19 negative certificate (RTPCR) of testing done within 96 hours prior to their visit to the temple.