In Shri Jagannath Temple located in Puri, Odisha, devotees coming in certain types of dress have now been banned from entering the temple. The temple administration has said that devotees wearing shorts, torn jeans, skirts and sleeveless clothes have been banned from entering this 12th century religious place. ‘Dress code’ has also been made mandatory for them. Not only this, the temple administration has completely banned eating gutkha and paan and using plastic and polythene in the temple premises from the New Year onwards. An official of the Shri Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) said on Monday (January 1) that devotees will have to wear ‘decent clothes’ to enter the temple. He told that if any devotee comes wearing half pants, shorts, skirt, torn jeans or sleeveless clothes, then such people will not be allowed to enter the temple.
Men wore dhoti and towel, women wore saree.
This rule was announced earlier also by the temple administration. After the implementation of this rule, on Monday, the first day of the year 2024, male devotees coming to the temple were seen wearing dhoti and towel, while women were seen in saree or salwar-kameez. The official said that to maintain the sanctity of the temple, a ban has been imposed on eating gutkha and paan in the temple premises. People who violate this are being fined.
The doors of Jagannath temple were reopened late at night.
Meanwhile, devotees gathered in large numbers in Puri, Odisha to have darshan of Lord Jagannath on the first day of the new year. The doors of the temple were reopened for the devotees, who had been standing in queues on the Grand Road since 1:40 in the night. Puri Police said in a post on social media platform ‘X’ that till 12 noon on Monday, more than 1,80,000 devotees visited Jagannath Dham. Along with ensuring darshan without any hindrance, the police is also ensuring darshan facilities for the disabled devotees.
Darshan was stopped for some time
SJTA and police have made elaborate arrangements for the smooth darshan of the devotees. Inspector General of Police, Central Range, Ashish Kumar Singh said that almost twice as many devotees have visited the temple today as compared to the same day last year. The darshan of the deities started late at 1:40 in the night and is still going on. Darshan was stopped for some time to perform rituals related to Gods and Goddesses.
There were some restrictions on New Year in Puri city
Officials said that traffic restrictions have been imposed in the city on New Year. Consumption of paan and tobacco products has also been banned in Lingaraj Temple of Bhubaneswar from Monday. Devotees found chewing tobacco or betel leaf are not being allowed to enter this 11th century Shiva temple. The use of polythene and plastic has also been banned in the temple.