Kartika Brata: Entry into Puri temple through 2 gates from tomorrow

Bhubaneswar: The Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) has decided to impose restrictions on entering and exiting the Srimandir from October 18 expecting heavy rush of devotees during the holy month of Kartik.

Entry into the temple will be allowed only through the Singhadwara (Lions’ Gate) and Western gate or Vyaghradwara. Exit through the Lions’ Gate will not be allowed. Any one of the other three gates can be used by devotees to step out of the shrine. However, these restrictions are not meant for temple servitors and their family members, the SJTA said.

SJTA chief administrator Arabinda Padhee urged devotees to adhere to the entry and exit rules to ensure smooth darshan of the Trinity and timely observation of rituals. A portable network with optical fiber systems and 620 CCTV cameras will be installed at various locations of the town. The cameras will be monitored from a command and control room.

CCTV Surveillance

The administration has sent a proposal to the state government to install state-of-the-art CCTV cameras to keep the town under CCTV surveillance. All the town’s entry points including Athurnalla, Mangalaghat and Balighat will be under surveillance of high-resolution CCTV cameras. This apart, Badadanda, Gundicha temple, Srimandir, the sea beach area and almost all lanes of the town will be put under surveillance, said Collector Siddharth Shankar Swain.