Ritual of Jagannath temple delays as repair of Jagamohan begins

PURI: The ritual of Jagannath temple in Puri delayed for two hours on Wednesday when the repair work of Jagamohan, the hall facing the sanctum sanctorum of Jagannath Temple here, is scheduled to begin.

Sources said the Singha Dwara of the temple, supposed to open at 2.00 am as per the revised schedule to facilitate the repair work, opened at 4:20 am while the inner gate opened at 4:40 am.

Mangal alati was performed at 5:20 am.

Notably, a meeting was held on Monday by Sri Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) Chief Administrator Suresh Chandra Mohapatra with servitors of the temple representing the seven Nijogs to ensure hassle-free renovation work.

As per the meeting, the temple gates will open at 2 AM to complete all the rituals and the second offering to the deities by 10 AM.

After these rituals, maintenance work will be undertaken by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI.

Two committees have been constituted to oversee the rituals during the maintenance period. While one committee will supervise the rituals between 2 to 10 AM, the other will oversee the rituals between 7 PM to 12 AM, informed sources.

The devotees will have darshan of the Trinity from the outer gate till the repair work is completed.