Jagannath Temple to remain closed from Jan 10 to 31 as Covid-19 cases surge in Odisha

By Sukant Mohanty

Bhubaneswar, Jan.7 : The famous Jagannath Temple at Odisha’s pilgrim city Puri will remain closed for devotees from January 10 till January 31 in view of the surge in Covid-19 cases in the state, informed Puri district collector Samarth Verma on Friday.

A decision was taken at a meeting between Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) and Chhatisa Nijoga, an umbrella organization of the servitors, in the evening.

Though the 12th century shrine will remain out of bounds for devotees, rituals of the deities will continue.

Covid-related safety measures for servitors such as Covid Care Centre, ambulance, Rapid Response Team (RRT) and medical checkup were also discussed at the meeting, the official said.

If the Covid-19 situation prevails after January 31, appropriate decisions regarding the closure of the temple will be taken, he said.

The decision comes after detection of several Covid-19 cases inside the temple.

Several employees of Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) and servitors have tested positive for Covid-19.

On Friday also, the Odisha government issued a fresh order for closure of all the colleges/universities/technical education institutions from Jan 10 till February 1, 2022.

The only exception, however, were the medical, nursing colleges and institutions which have been allowed to function. This apart, the government decided to allow the ongoing offline exams up to their finish.

As per the new order, hostels at these institutions will also remain closed from Jan 10.

In fact, the Covid-19 infection in Odisha on Friday crossed 2,500-mark for the time in 2022 with 2,703 cases, including 409 children in 0 to 18 years age group, in the last 24 hours.

Odisha had last crossed the 2,000-mark in a single day with 2,085 cases on July 19, 2021, as per the data revealed by the state information and public relations department.

The state had logged 1,897 Covid-19 cases on Thursday and on Wednesday, there were 1,216 infections.