<p>The famed Jagannath temple in Odisha's Puri reopened for the public on Monday morning after remaining off the bounds for four months due to the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, officials said.</p>.<p>People from different parts of the country were seen queueing up to have 'darshan' of the sibling deities -- Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra and Lord Jagannath at the 12th-century shrine, which was shut since April 24.</p>.<p>The devotees were allowed to enter the temple from 7 am to 7 pm.</p>.<p>The temple will remain closed for the public on the weekends to sanitise the premises, as per a notification by the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA).</p>.<p>Devotees coming from outside Puri are needed to produce complete vaccination certificates or Covid-negative reports obtained through RT-PCR test conducted within 96 hours.</p>.<p>The shrine will remain closed on all major festivals, incuding Janmastami, to avoid gathering, officials said.</p>.<p>The annual Ratha Jatra was also held this year in absence of devotees.</p>.<p>The devotees are allowed entry into the temple after thermal screening, and wearing masks and maintaining social distance are mandatory, officials said.</p>.<p>Devotees are also not allowed to touch statues and idols inside the temple, and prohibited from having 'prasad' inside the premises, they said.</p>.<p>The devotees are required to produce government-issued identity cards such as Aadhaar to enter the temple.</p>.<p>The devotees are allowed entry through the 'Singhadwar' (Lion's Gate) and exit through the 'Uttaradwar' (North Gate).</p>.<p>The local police made special arrangements for crowd management as the temple reopened after four months.</p>.<p>"Arrangements are now in place for smooth darshan of 30,000 devotees. All are requested to adhere to the Covid-19 protocol," SJTA chief administrator Krishan Kumar said.</p>.<p>Puri's Superintendent of Police Kanwar Vishal Singh said 12 platoons of forces have been deployed in and outside the temple. One platoon has 30 personnel.</p>.<p>A devotee from Pune in Maharashtra said that as he was aware of the guidelines, he and his family members had brought RT-PCR negative reports for entry into the temple.</p>.<p>"We had a smooth darshan of the Lord," he said. </p>
<p>The famed Jagannath temple in Odisha's Puri reopened for the public on Monday morning after remaining off the bounds for four months due to the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, officials said.</p>.<p>People from different parts of the country were seen queueing up to have 'darshan' of the sibling deities -- Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra and Lord Jagannath at the 12th-century shrine, which was shut since April 24.</p>.<p>The devotees were allowed to enter the temple from 7 am to 7 pm.</p>.<p>The temple will remain closed for the public on the weekends to sanitise the premises, as per a notification by the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA).</p>.<p>Devotees coming from outside Puri are needed to produce complete vaccination certificates or Covid-negative reports obtained through RT-PCR test conducted within 96 hours.</p>.<p>The shrine will remain closed on all major festivals, incuding Janmastami, to avoid gathering, officials said.</p>.<p>The annual Ratha Jatra was also held this year in absence of devotees.</p>.<p>The devotees are allowed entry into the temple after thermal screening, and wearing masks and maintaining social distance are mandatory, officials said.</p>.<p>Devotees are also not allowed to touch statues and idols inside the temple, and prohibited from having 'prasad' inside the premises, they said.</p>.<p>The devotees are required to produce government-issued identity cards such as Aadhaar to enter the temple.</p>.<p>The devotees are allowed entry through the 'Singhadwar' (Lion's Gate) and exit through the 'Uttaradwar' (North Gate).</p>.<p>The local police made special arrangements for crowd management as the temple reopened after four months.</p>.<p>"Arrangements are now in place for smooth darshan of 30,000 devotees. All are requested to adhere to the Covid-19 protocol," SJTA chief administrator Krishan Kumar said.</p>.<p>Puri's Superintendent of Police Kanwar Vishal Singh said 12 platoons of forces have been deployed in and outside the temple. One platoon has 30 personnel.</p>.<p>A devotee from Pune in Maharashtra said that as he was aware of the guidelines, he and his family members had brought RT-PCR negative reports for entry into the temple.</p>.<p>"We had a smooth darshan of the Lord," he said. </p>