Bhubaneswar, April 5: Puri temple administration’s decision to close down the temple for three hours on Sunday to facilitate the once-in-a-lifetime visit Queen Lilavati Pattamahadei (Gahan Bije) has opened up a can of woes for tourists and regular visitors alike.
The move has faced criticism from pilgrims who say the closure on a Sunday will cause “unnecessary inconvenience” for them.
The temple is scheduled to close till the evening at least when the queen will visit it to offer a special seva.
“The Kurma Bedha, the inner confines of the temple after the twenty-two steps of the temple, will remain out of bounds for all, including pilgrims and sevayats from 3 pm onwards on Sunday,” said temple administrator (rituals) Binod Mohanty.
After Madhyahna Dhoopa and Nakshatra Puja, Shodh (purification) of the temple will begin. For this, the temple will be sanitised of all people from 3 pm onwards.
“Gahana Bije is scheduled to begin at 4 pm and is expected to take around two hours. The pilgrims can enter the temple after that,” said Mohanty. “The temple is closed to pilgrims on rare occasions. The last such occasion was the visit of Nepal King Gyanendra in 2003. But this time, even sevayats will not be allowed inside the temple,” said Damodar Pratihari, a senior sevayat of the temple.
However, the Anand Bazar (the prasad market) will remain open even during the ritual.
Visitors, though, are not ready to buy the argument.
“I usually go to the temple in the afternoon as I can’t see in the dark. Now I will be deprived of a darshan on Sunday,” Saraju Dei, an 81-year-old resident of Labanikhia Chhak in Puri, said.
“It’s inconvenient for the tourists,” Abijit Basak of Midnapur, who was visiting the temple with his family, agreed.
Mohanty, though, claimed that the closure time has been cut down from half a day to only a few hours now. “But it being a Sunday there indeed will be a rush later,” he added.
The queen’s visit has also sparked protests among the “rationalists”. “The Parliament does not recognise kings and queensWhy should a public place like the Jagannath temple be closed for the darshan of the Queen?” asked B. Ramachandra secretary of Amofoi and a founder-member of Orissa Rationalist Society.