Bhubaneswar: Devotees faced immense hardships for the darshan of Lord Jagannath with a huge crowd thronging the temple in Puri on Monday, which was a holiday for Christmas.
Though adequate police personnel had been deployed, people were seen breaking barricades to rush towards the shrine. Delay in conduct of rituals forced devotees to wait for hours outside the temple.
“I stood in the queue for three hours outside the temple before getting an opportunity to get inside the shrine.When we inquired about the delay, the police personnel attributed the reason to slow conduct of rituals,” said Nandini Dash, a devotee from Rourkela.
Devotees alleged that some priests took money from many people waiting in queues outside and helped them to get an easy entry into the temple. As per the existing crowd management, devotees are made to wait outside the temple for hours until those, who were already in, came out.
“We were forced to block the flow of devotees outside for some time till others came out of the temple. Devotees were being allowed to enter in phases. This regulation is normally done only when we witness a huge footfall of devotees. The Supreme Court directed the government to introduce a queue management system. If we allow thousands of devotees in groups at a time, stampede-like situations would take place,” a police officer said.
During the recent Kartika month, devotees, including senior citizens, were put to inconvenience. Many devotees fainted due to suffocation in the rush outside the temple. Later, police streamlined the system and facilitated smooth darshan of deities by devotees.
People have demanded better management of the darshan system. “We have no issues with the queue management system. But people in the queues should be allowed to move on instead of being forced to remain standing at one place for three to five hours,” said Pankaj Ray, a devotee from Kolkata.
Currently, devotees are allowed to get into the shrine from the Lion’s Gate only, leading to massive rush. The administration said the other three gates cannot be opened as development work is in progress near the gates under the Jagannath Parikrama project.
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Though adequate police personnel had been deployed, people were seen breaking barricades to rush towards the shrine. Delay in conduct of rituals forced devotees to wait for hours outside the temple.
“I stood in the queue for three hours outside the temple before getting an opportunity to get inside the shrine.When we inquired about the delay, the police personnel attributed the reason to slow conduct of rituals,” said Nandini Dash, a devotee from Rourkela.
Devotees alleged that some priests took money from many people waiting in queues outside and helped them to get an easy entry into the temple. As per the existing crowd management, devotees are made to wait outside the temple for hours until those, who were already in, came out.
“We were forced to block the flow of devotees outside for some time till others came out of the temple. Devotees were being allowed to enter in phases. This regulation is normally done only when we witness a huge footfall of devotees. The Supreme Court directed the government to introduce a queue management system. If we allow thousands of devotees in groups at a time, stampede-like situations would take place,” a police officer said.
During the recent Kartika month, devotees, including senior citizens, were put to inconvenience. Many devotees fainted due to suffocation in the rush outside the temple. Later, police streamlined the system and facilitated smooth darshan of deities by devotees.
People have demanded better management of the darshan system. “We have no issues with the queue management system. But people in the queues should be allowed to move on instead of being forced to remain standing at one place for three to five hours,” said Pankaj Ray, a devotee from Kolkata.
Currently, devotees are allowed to get into the shrine from the Lion’s Gate only, leading to massive rush. The administration said the other three gates cannot be opened as development work is in progress near the gates under the Jagannath Parikrama project.
We also published the following articles recently
Ram Temple to have golf carts for elderly devotees
The Ram Temple Trust will make special arrangements for elderly visitors to Ram Janmabhoomi by launching e-vehicles on the temple premises. They will purchase battery operated golf carts to carry 12 passengers at a time. Senior citizens can request these golf carts at the temple reception to be transported to the sanctum sanctorum. Additionally, the trust plans to set up a hospital near the temple complex to provide proper medical care to those in need.
The Ram Temple Trust will make special arrangements for elderly visitors to Ram Janmabhoomi by launching e-vehicles on the temple premises. They will purchase battery operated golf carts to carry 12 passengers at a time. Senior citizens can request these golf carts at the temple reception to be transported to the sanctum sanctorum. Additionally, the trust plans to set up a hospital near the temple complex to provide proper medical care to those in need.
Devotees throng Perumal temples to offer prayers on Vaikunta Ekadasi
The Paramapatha Vaasal of Arulmigu Ranganathaswamy temple in Srirangam opened on Saturday morning as part of the Vaikunta Ekadasi festival. Approximately 1.5 lakh devotees visited the shrine. The festival is being celebrated for 22 days, with day and night celebrations. Lord Namperumal, the processional deity, made a grand procession through various gateways and halted at the Thousand Pillar Hall for public darshan. The festival will conclude on January 2, 2024.
The Paramapatha Vaasal of Arulmigu Ranganathaswamy temple in Srirangam opened on Saturday morning as part of the Vaikunta Ekadasi festival. Approximately 1.5 lakh devotees visited the shrine. The festival is being celebrated for 22 days, with day and night celebrations. Lord Namperumal, the processional deity, made a grand procession through various gateways and halted at the Thousand Pillar Hall for public darshan. The festival will conclude on January 2, 2024.