Covid-19 in Odisha: Jagannath Temple to remain shut for devotees

Bhubaneswar: Entry of devotees to Jagannath Temple in Odisha’s Puri will be restricted from tomorrow till March 31 due to coronavirus, informed temple administration chief Krishan Kumar on Thursday.

The Odisha government has ordered closure of the 12th century shrine to prevent outbreak of Covid-19.

However, servitors will be allowed to enter the temple to perform daily rituals of the presiding deities.

 “We adopted the major restriction in the temple to prevent spread of novel coronavirus. Devotees will not be allowed to have darshan of the deities till March 31 from Friday. However, the daily rituals will remain unaffected,” said Krishan Kumar.

Couple of days ago, it was decided that Pujapanda servitors will wear masks and perform the rituals.

Shri Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) had on March 15 announced compulsorily secure Covid-19 self-declaration forms from devotees before allowing them access to the shrine.