Bhubaneswar: It was a close Stampede in front of the Jagannath Temple in Puri on Saturday because thousands of worshipers gathered to catch a glimpse of the god of the brother before the temple closed the door to stem the Covid wave.
Although the Administration of the Sri Jagannath Temple (SJTA) has announced the closure of the temple from Monday to January 31, the temple remains closed on Sunday to conduct a sanitization in its place, effectively making the last Saturday can enter this month’s temple, a Darshan.
To redeem it, a large crowd made the way to the temple, placing Covid security norms to test.
The queue is more than one kilometer, stretches from Singha Dwar to Marichikote Square at the Grand Road.
Darshan started at 5:30 a.m.
and continued until 8:30 a.m., before 9 nights night work hours began to apply.
Usually, only worshipers who produce final vaccination certificates or RT-PC’s negative reports obtained in 96 hours after the visit, are permitted to enter the temple.
But the situation changed was so chaotic on Saturday that officials could not even check vaccination or RT-PCR certificates, increasing fear of a surge in case, beating the goal of keeping the doors of the temple closed to the public.
“Today is the last day of January when we can have Darshan Dewa because the temple will be closed from Sunday.
In addition, the speed where the Covid case is increasing, you never know when the temple will be reopened and when the situation will be normal.
So, We decided to give a prayer to the gods, “said Satyabhama Das, a worshiper, who stood in the queue to enter the temple.
“I felt very lucky that I could see a glimpse of the gods before I returned home.
I am not aware of the decision that the temple will be closed from tomorrow.
We have traveled to Odisha but wrapped it up because of the increasing Covid case,” said Sadhika Nag, a tourist from West Bengal.
The district government decided to close the temple after several servants, their family members, and temple officials were tested positively.
Only servants who will be allowed to enter the temporary temple system have been introduced to Mahaprasad.
“This is a serious concern because cases rise quickly and people come in large quantities.
To ensure the safety of worshipers, we decide to cover the temple to the public until January 31.
This situation develops fast and further decisions will be taken,” said Castle collector of Puri Samarth Verma.