Good news for devotees! Puri Jagannath temple to remain open on Saturdays too

Puri : Good news for Lord Jagannath devotees as Puri Jagannath temple will remain open for devotees on Saturdays too. The administration on Wednesday announced that devotees can now have a darshan of deities on Saturdays. However, the temple will be closed on Sundays for sanitization.

It has also decided to extend the timing of darshan for 2 more hours. With the fresh decision, the new darshan timing is 7 AM to 9 PM.

General guidelines for all devotees on account of COVID-19

• It is mandatory for all devotees to wear Masks at all times, inside & outside the Temple.
• Devotees should sanitize their hands before entering into the Temple.
• Devotees should maintain physical distance at all times as per COVID-19 guidelines and follow Covid appropriate behavior.
• Devotees are requested not to touch Statues or idols inside the Temple.
• It is prohibited to take flowers/ bhoga/ deepa inside the Temple. There will be big containers placed at the entrance, where such items can be dropped, if being carried by the devotees.
• Lighting of the Deepas inside the Temple by the devotees will not be permitted at all.
• Chewing of Tobacco/ Paan and spitting inside the Temple premises is strictly prohibited. A fine of Rs.500/- will be levied for each violation.
• There is a complete ban on carrying Polythene Bags inside the Temple. A fine of Rs.100/- will be levied for each violation.
• 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 Jagannath Ballav Math premise or any other designated place.

Guidelines for all devotees who will be visiting the Temple w.e.f 23.08.2021

• Queue system will open from 07:00 AM. Devotees will make entry through the barricades opposite to the Shoe stand, situated on North East side of the temple complex.
• 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 (RT PCR) of testing done within 96 hours prior to their visit to the Temple.
• All devotees will be required to bring their photo ID Card like Aadhaar/ Voter ID etc.
• Devotees will leave their belongings at the designated place outside the Temple; produce their ID proof for verification and follow the COVID-19 guidelines of hand sanitization & thermal scanning before entering the Temple.
• All devotees will enter through Singhadwar. After the Darshan, the exit will be through Uttaradwar.

Earlier on January 21, the temple administration had discontinued the mandatory rule for devotees to carry Covid-negative reports to be allowed entry. It had then also decided to keep the temple shut on weekends for disinfecting its premises in view of the pandemic.