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Tuesday, November 21, 2023

Elderly, ailing pilgrims should avoid rush: Das

Nov 21, 2023, 04.44 AM IST

Bhubaneswar: After drawing flak from different quarters over the queue management system at the Puri Jagannath Temple, its chief administrator Ranjan Kumar Das on Monday advised elderly and ailing devotees to refrain from visiting the shrine during huge rush.

Das said God is omnipresent and can be invoked by devotees from any place. He said such devotees should visit the temple when the rush is less.

“I appeal to the elderly devotees suffering from ailments not to take the risk of visiting the temple during the rush hours. God can hear their prayers from anywhere. Out of excitement, they should not stand among huge crowds. Unlike a 25-year-old youth, they lack strength to stand in a queue for a longer period,” Das said.

The temple administration said it would hold a meeting on Tuesday to discuss the darshan system. “We will update devotees about the real-time status of the rituals through public address systems from Singha Dwar to Marchikot Chowk so they can plan their visits accordingly,” Das said.

Devotees said the shrine administration should not restrict the access of elderly people. “We too want to offer prayers. The administration should find a solution and make arrangements for us,” said Shyamaprasad Swain, an elderly devotee.

Long Puri temple queues test devotees

Long Puri temple queues test devotees

Nov 21, 2023, 04.46 AM IST

Bhubaneswar: “I will never ever visit the Jagannath Temple after such a bitter and horrible experience,” said Manorama Hota, 75, a devotee from Cuttack after she almost fainted in a queue while waiting for over three hours outside the shrine on Monday. Fourteen-year-old devotee Susama Maharana from Kendrapada was rushed to Puri district headquarters hospital as she fainted while waiting in the queue for several hours.

Like Hota and Maharana, countless devotees face untold suffering for a hassle-free darshan almost every day. Monday was no different with queues stretching up to two km from Market Square to the temple. The intense torture often starts when thousands of devotees are asked to wait in multiple queues outside the temple until they get a green signal from the authorities to enter the shrine.

As per the existing crowd management, devotees are made to wait outside the temple for hours until pilgrims inside the shrine premises move out. “We are forced to block the flow of devotees outside the temple for some time so that others leave the premises. Devotees are being allowed inside the temple in phases. This regulation is being done only when we witness huge footfall of devotees. The Supreme Court directed the government to introduce queue management system. If we allow thousands of devotees in groups at a time, there would be stampede-like situations,” a temple police officer said.

While about 30,000 devotees visit the temple on a normal day, the footfall increases to about 1 lakh during the ongoing holy Kartika month. Most of the visitors are elderly women, who observe kartika brata. Devotees demand 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 stagnant for three to five hours,” said Niranjan Mishra, a devotee from Balasore.

Rashmi Dey, a devotee from Kolkata, said temples in other states have better facilities than Puri. “We waited for three hours in the queue outside the temple. There are no drinking water and toilet facilities. The system should improve,” Dey said.