The timing for darshan of deities at the Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri has been extended by two hours till 9 pm. A decision in this regard was taken by the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) held under the chairmanship of SJTA Chief Administrator Dr Krishan Kumar on Wednesday.
Earlier, the devotees were allowed for darshan from 7 am to 7 pm. With the fresh decision, the new darshan timing is 7 am to 9 pm. The SJTA further decided that the temple would remain open on Saturdays but would continue to be closed on Sundays. Earlier, the temple was being closed for two days during the weekend for sanitisation in view of the Covid-19 situation.
However, the temple would remain shut for public on September 10 on Ganesh Puja day and September 17 on Viswakarma Puja day. Notably, the temple, which was closed for public during the second wave of Covid-19, reopened on August 23. A set of general guidelines for all devotees on account of Covid-19 has been issued for darshan of the deities, including wearing mask, maintaining social distancing and no offering of Bhog, diya and flower inside the temple.