Devotees, guests and native persons are seen on the queue in entrance of the Shree Jagannath temple
| Photo Credit: Biswaranjan Rout
The administration of Shree Jagannath Temple on January 1 made dress code mandatory for devotees wishing to enter the 12th century shrine.
It additionally put a whole ban on chewing gutkha and pan within the shrine premises and using plastic and polythene from New Year’s Day of 2024.
An official from Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) official mentioned devotees might be required to put on “decent clothes” to enter the shrine. Devotees carrying half pants, shorts, torn denims, skirts and sleeveless attire is not going to be allowed to enter the temple.
With the rule coming into impact, male devotees coming to the temple on the primary day of 2024 had been seen carrying dhoti and towels and ladies had been clad in both sarees or salwar kameez as they thronged to have a darshan of the deity.
The SJTA had earlier issued an order to the impact and the police had been requested to implement the restrictions.
The official mentioned the ban on gutkha and pan within the temple premises was being applied to take care of its sanctity. Those who violate the restriction are being fined, he added.
Meanwhile, a lot of devotees have thronged the seaside pilgrim metropolis to have a darshan of Lord Jagannath on New Year’s Day. The temple doorways reopened for the devotees, who queued up on the Grand Road in entrance of it, at 1:40 a.m.
“More than 1,80,000 devotees have visited @JagannathaDhaam till 12 noon (on Monday). Along with ensuring hassle-free darshan, police are ensuring facilitation of specially-abled devotees,” Puri police Samarth Verma mentioned in a X put up.
The SJTA and police have made elaborate preparations for clean darshan by the devotees. An air-conditioned tensile material construction constructed outdoors the temple was made purposeful for devotees from January 1 morning.
Facilities resembling ingesting water and public bathrooms have been made accessible on the construction, which has additionally been outfitted with CCTV cameras and public announcement system. Sitting preparations have additionally been supplied in them.
Inspector General of police of central vary, Ashish Kumar Singh mentioned “Nearly more than double the number of devotees compared to the same day last year have already visited the temple today. The darshan (of deities) began early at 1.40 am and is still going on. The darshan was halted for some time to hold the rituals connected with the deities.”
There have been no hitches as but and the devotees are getting into the temple by the AC shed. Special preparations have been made for senior residents and folks with disabilities.
Traffic restrictions have been imposed within the city for New Year’s Day. The space between Market Chakka to Singhadwara (important gate) on Badadanda has been declared ‘no car zone’, whereas autos have been banned on the beachside highway from Digabareni to the lighthouse, officers mentioned.
Consumption of pan and tobacco merchandise has additionally been banned contained in the Lingaraj Temple in Bhubaneswar from January 1.
Devotees discovered chewing tobacco or betel leaves will not be being allowed to enter the premises of the 11th-century Shiva temple. The use of polythene and plastics have additionally been banned within the temple as determined by the Lingaraj Temple Trust Board.