Demand for Reopening of All 4 Gates of Puri Jagannath Temple for Devotees

Puri: An organization named Sachetana Nagarik Manch has launched a signature campaign demanding the reopening of all four gates of Srimandir for the devotees.

The organization plans to collect more than one lakh signatures in support of the demand and send it to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik with the plea to order for the reopening of all four gates of Srimandir for the devotees.

The Sachetana Nagarik Manch started its signature campaign on Sunday. It has threatened to start a hunger strike to highlight the issue.

Earlier, devotees were allowed to enter and exit Srimandir through its four gates. But a few years back, in the name of crowd management, the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) decided to allow entry of devotees into the temple only through the Singhadwara or the Lions’ Gate. The three other gates of the temple were virtually closed to the devotees.

The Sachetan Nagarik Mancha alleged that this has caused inconveniences for the devotees as they are now forced to stand in queues for a long to have darshan of the deities.