Cuttack: A PIL has been filed in the Orissa High Court for the reopening of the Shri Jagannath Temple which has remained closed since the beginning of lockdown in March. The Odisha government in an effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the state has closed down all temples and places of worship. Devotees have been asked to stay away from all holy places.
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A devotee in Puri has filed a PIL for the reopening of the Shri Jagannath temple. In a similar development, another PIL has been filed by 15 servitors of ‘Maa Mangala’ shrine at Kakatpur in the Orissa High Court. In both PILs, the petitioners have urged the court to allow the opening of temples so that devotees can visit those for ‘darshan’.
The closure of the temples has created immense hardships to all servitors across the state. The servitors usually depend on the devotees to eke out their living. They earn by providing services to the devotees. With no devotees being allowed to visit the temple, the incomes of the servitors have decreased manifold.
PNN