Puri: Jagannath Temple all set to reopen for all from August 23

Puri’s Jagannath Temple is all set to reopen from August 16. As per the temple administration, Saturday and Sunday will be weekend lockdowns. During this time, sanitisation of temple premises will be carried out. While the temple will repon for locals from August 16, the temple will be thrown open to all devotees from August 23.

Staying shut for almost three months due to the second wave of Coronavirus, the 12th century Jagannath temple will then reopen for locals in a graded manner.
The temple administration, however, has imposed COVID-related restrictions to ensure that the devotees don’t get infected.

As per the reports, the temple will remain open to devotees from 7 AM to 8 PM. Reportedly, the administration has also made vaccine certificates (who have received both the doses of COVID vaccine) or negative RT-PCR test reports mandatory for all devotees.
Reports have it that devotees who are fully vaccinated will be required to produce a vaccine certificate, but devotees who are unvaccinated or those partially vaccinated, will be required to provide a negative RT-PCR test report that has been taken within 96 hours of visiting the temple.

Although the temple will remain in weekend lockdown during Saturdays and Sundays, as it is still in effect in Puri, Cuttack, and Bhubaneswar, the devotees will also not be allowed to enter the temple on August 30 during the Janmashtami festival.