SOP issued for reopening of Puri Jagannath temple; know details

Puri, Dec 23: The Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) today issued a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for darshan of deities. The temple was closed since March 20 for Covid-19 pandemic while it reopened from Wednesday. General guidelines on account of Covid-19 for all devotees 1. It is mandatory for all pilgrims to wear masks at all times, inside and outside the Temple 2. Devotees should sanitize their hands before entering into the Temple 3. Devotees should maintain physical distance at all times as per Covid guidelines. 4. Devotees are requested not to touch Statues or idols inside the Termple 5. It is prohibited to take flowers / Bhoga / Deepa inside the Temple. There will be big containers placed at the entrance, where such items can be dropped if being carried by the devotees. 6. There will be no lighting of 'Deepa' inside the Tenple by the devotees 7. There will be no partaking of Mahaprasad inside Ananda Bazar & Temple premises 8. Chewing of Tobacco/ Paan &spitting inside Ternple premises is strictly prohibited 9 Parking of vehicles will be done only at Jagannatha Ballay Math premises or any other designated place 10. Advice to senior citizen/Children/persons having co-morbidities: Persons above 65years of age, persons with co-morbidities, pregnant women & children below 10years are advised not to visit the Temple in view of the prevailing Covid situation. Guidelines for all devotees who will be visiting the Temple from January 3 1. Queue system will open from 08.00 AM at Market Chhak. 2. All devotees will be required to bring Covid-19 negative certificate (RTPCR/Antigen) of testing done within 96 hours prior to their visit to the temple. 3. All devotees will be required to bring their photo ID Card, namely, Aadhaar/Voter ID etc. 4. Devotees will make entry through the barricade from Market Chhaka till Jagannatha Temple office; leave their belongings at the designated place outside the Temple; produce their ID proof for verification and follow the Covid-19 guidelines of hand sanitization & thermal scanning before entering the Temple. 5. All devotees will enter through Singhadwar. After the Darshan, the exit will be through Uttaradwar.