Trial run of devotee queue system in Sri Jagannath Temple, Puri to begin soon: Law Minister

Bhubaneswar, Sep 18 (UNI) The trial run of a queue system for devotees to have darshan of the presiding deities at the 12th-century Sri Jagannath Temple in Puri will begin soon, Odisha Law Minister Prithviraj Harichandan announced.
The Minister said the issue hindering the implementation of the system has been resolved after Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi approved the relocation of the temple hundis (donation boxes), which were obstructing the flow of the proposed queue inside the shrine.

Harichandan added that the Chief Minister has approved two major decisions concerning temple management—introducing the queue system for devotees and shifting the hundis.

The temple administration and the Puri District Collector, in consultation, will decide the exact location where the hundis will be shifted. Once relocated, the trial implementation of the queue system will begin, he informed.
Alongside this, Harichandan said another significant decision has been taken regarding the Ratna Bhandar (treasury chamber). On September 23, the Jewellery chest will be moved inside the Ratna Bhandar in the presence of the temple administration and a high-level committee, as decided by the Ratna Bhandar sub-committee.

He explained that the temple’s jewellery had earlier been removed from both the Inner and Outer Ratna Bhandars to facilitate renovation and repair works by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). These works were completed during the nine-day sojourn of the presiding deities for the annual Rath Yatra.