Puri's Jagannath temple to open doors for devotees at 1 am to handle New Year's Day rush

Puri: The famed Jagannath temple in Odisha's Puri will open its doors to devotees at 1 am, in a bid to handle the rush on the New Year's Day.

It was decided that the rituals of the temple will be completed on time on Sunday so that the doors are closed at 11 pm, and could be opened again two hours later at 1 am, district collector Samarth Verma said.

Lakhs of devotees visit the temple on January 1 every year to seek blessings of the sibling deities -- Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra.

'We expect that about 3-4 lakh devotees will visit the temple on New Year's Day. The added enthusiasm is also because the people want to experience the revamped surrounding of the temple due to the heritage corridor project, which is almost complete, and will be inaugurated on January 17,' said Ranjan Das, the chief administrator of the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA).

The air-conditioned tensile fabric structure that has been built outside the temple will be made functional for devotees on Monday morning.

Facilities such as drinking water and public toilets have been made available at the structure, and these have also been equipped with CCTV cameras and public announcement systems. Sitting arrangements have also been provided in them.

Also, a strict vigil is being maintained on chewing pan and tobacco items inside the temple, besides the use of plastic bags.

'We have already fined some people for chewing pan and tobacco inside the temple. We appeal to all to follow the instructions of the SJTA for making the temple premises clean and healthy,' Das said.

Traffic restrictions have also been imposed in the town for the New Year's Day, officials said.

Market Chakka to Singhadwara on Badadanda has been declared a 'No Vehicle Zone'. Vehicles have also been banned on the beachside road from Digabareni to Lighthouse, they said.

Only emergency vehicles can ply on the restricted roads, said DIG (Central Range) Ashish Kumar Singh.

All local and inter-state tourist buses have to be parked at the Malatipatpur bus stand. However, there will be no restriction on regular passenger buses, said another police officer said.

Special arrangements have also been made for cars, which have to be parked at Saradhabali, Jail Road, Yatrika and Jagannath Ballav parking lots, he said.