Servitors stage sit-in demanding Puri temple reopening

BHUBANESWAR: A group of servitors of the Jagannath Temple in Puri staged a demonstration outside the shrine on Tuesday demanding reopening of the temple amid restrictions.
The protest comes amid the state government’s decision to keep all religious places closed till October 31,
The Jagannath Temple has been shut since March 20 in view of the Covid outbreak, but the rituals are being continued as usual.
“We request the government to allow a handful of devotees into the temple after thermal screening on a daily basis. A team of doctors should be deployed near each of its four gates for a basic health check-up of the devotees,” Damodar Mahasuar, an agitating servitor, said. He added that the economic condition of several servitors has worsened due to the prolonged closure of the temple.
The other servitors questioned the government’s rationale behind allowing shopping malls, shops, bars and hotels to reopen during the pandemic. “If unregulated and unchecked crowds are allowed to gather at other places and travel in public transport, what is the harm in opening the temple,” Sanjay Mahasuar, another servitor, said.
The Jagannath temple administration reiterated that the temple would not reopen before October 31. “We recently told the Orissa high court about the potential danger in reopening the shrine. About 420 servitors have so far been infected by the virus, while 322 of them tested positive in the last one and a half months. At least ten servitors have succumbed to the disease,” a temple official said.
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