SOP soon for Divyangs to have Lord Jagannath darshan in Puri Srimandir

Puri: The prevailing problems of the divyangs to have the darshan of Lord Jagannath and his siblings in Puri Srimandir is all set to be resolved soon as the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) has decided to issue a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) in this regard.

According to additional chief administrator of SJTA Samarth Verma, the issue of the divyangs was discussed in the recently concluded Chhattisa Nijog meeting, held on Tuesday.

The meeting decided that the divyang devotees will have to register themselves online for the darshan of the deities. Later, they will be taken on wheelchairs till the North-Gate (Uttara Dwara) of the temple. Thereafter, the bahakas (carriers) will carry them on special wooden chairs through the ghanti dwara and keep them near the Jaya Vijaya Dwara from where the differently-abled persons can have the darshan of Lord Jagannath and his siblings.

As per the decision, only two attendants of the divyang devotees can accompany them during the darshan. However, they can have the darshan between the Gopala Ballabha ritual and Sakala Dhupa (first secret worship). The Pratihari sevayats will make the arrangement for their darshan.

Each day, only 20 divyang devotees can have the darshan of the deities. They can visit the temple but can have their next darshan only after 30 days of their first darshan.

On the other hand, the senior servitors have demanded to increase the each day number limit of the divyang devotees from 20 to more. They also suggested to finalise a particular time frame for their darshan and carry them on the back of the servitors instead of special wooden chair.

Meanwhile, the divyang devotees, who at present can visit till the Singhadwara and see the Patitapaban only, have welcomed the decision taken for their hassle-free darshan of the deities and thanked the temple administration for the same.