Thousands of devotees visit Puri Jagannath temple on New Year's Day

Puri, Jan 1 (PTI) Thousands of devotees on Thursday thronged the pilgrim city of Puri and made a beeline for the 12th-century shrine to have darshan of sibling deities - Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra and Lord Jagannath - on New Year's Day.

The gates of the temple opened at 1.55 am as announced by the administration.

The devotees consider that seeking the Lord's blessings on the first day of the year would bring success to them. Very few elderly people were seen in the queue before the temple, an official said, adding that it was a craze among the young people to offer prayers at the temple on the occasion.

Apart from keeping the temple and its periphery under the CCTV surveillance, over 2,100 police personnel were deployed both inside and outside the shrine to manage the crowd, an official said. The devotees entered the temple through a queue and later were allowed to have darshan inside the temple from the 'Bahara Katha' (outer log).

"Every movement of the devotees is being watched through the CCTVs, and a quick action team is prepared to intervene if there is any incident," said a police officer.

Puri SP Prateek Singh said, "All arrangements have been made for smooth darshan of devotees. Our priority is to ensure a hassle-free darshan of devotees who are standing in the queue since last night. CCTV cameras and public address systems have been engaged in the sheds to assist devotees." The district administration has engaged hundreds of volunteers to assist the people in having smooth darshan of the deities.

"So far, by 11 am around 1.5 lakh people have entered the temple and had smooth darshan," a temple administration official said.

Though the New Year is not a festival as per the Hindu almanac, the occasion has turned out to be a major event in Shree Jagannath Temple here, said Bhaskar Mishra, a researcher in Shree Jagannath culture.

The police said special arrangements have also been made at the sea beach as the devotees, after having darshan in the temple, rush to the sea shore.

Apart from regular staff, the district administration of Puri has engaged over 300 lifeguards to assist tourists to have a smooth sea bath, a fire service official said. PTI AAM AAM RG