Puri, June 13 (Representative) All four gates of Sri Jagannath Temple in Puri were opened for devotees and the general public during the Mangal Alati of the presiding deities in the presence of Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and his council of ministers on Thursday.The opening of the four gates of the 12th-century shrine was one of the promises made by the BJP during the election campaign in the state.Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had campaigned in the state, assured the people that within six hours of the formation of the new BJP government, all four gates of the Jagannath Temple would be opened for devotees. The new BJP government, which was sworn in on Wednesday, took the decision to open the four gates of the temple in its first cabinet meeting in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday night.As per the decision of the BJP government, the Chief Minister and his council of ministers arrived here on Wednesday night and visited the temple early Thursday to offer prayers to the Lords during the Mangal Alati of the deities.
All four gates of the temple were opened during the Mangal Alati in the presence of all the council of ministers, the local MP, and other BJP MPs who had accompanied the council of ministers. The entry of devotees inside the temple was restricted during the Covid pandemic. After the Covid restrictions were lifted, the BJD government had opened only the Lion’s Gate of the temple for devotees, while the entry to the temple through the other three gates remained closed.This had caused a lot of inconvenience for the lakhs of devotees visiting the temple for darshan of the Lords Balavadra, Jagannath and their sister Shubhadra as they had to stand in long queues for hours in adverse weather conditions. Despite the demands of the devotees, local residents, and servitors, the BJD government did not pay any heed and allowed only local residents of Puri town to enter the temple from the western gate by producing their Aadhar card as proof.
Majhi and his council of ministers, who had darshan of the presiding deities of the temple, later told newsmen that the BJP has fulfilled its promise of opening the four gates of the temple for devotees for a smooth darshan.The Chief Minister said the district administration has been instructed to make arrangements for shoe stands and other facilities near all four gates of the temple so that devotees would not face any inconvenience during their visit. Majhi added that the first cabinet meeting of the government also decided to create a corpus fund of Rs. 500 crore for the renovation, restoration, and beautification of Sri Jagannath Temple, besides addressing the problems faced by devotees. Devotees across the state, local residents, and temple servitors have welcomed and hailed the decision of the BJP government.