Odisha: Fulfilling a key election promise, Odisha’s newly inaugurated BJP government reopened all four gates of the Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri today. This decision was made during the government’s first Cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

Following the reopening, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi stated, “We proposed to open all four gates of Jagannath Temple in yesterday’s Cabinet meeting. The proposal was approved, and today at 6:30 am, I, along with my MLAs and Puri MP Sambit Patra, attended the ‘Mangala aarti’… For the temple’s development and other initiatives, we have proposed a fund in the Cabinet. In the next state budget, we will allocate a corpus fund for temple management,” according to ANI.

#WATCH | Puri: Odisha CM Mohan Charan Majhi says, "We had proposed to open all the four gates of Jagannath Temple in yesterday's cabinet meeting. The proposal was passed and today at 6:30 am, I along with my MLAs and Puri MP (Sambit Patra) attended the 'Mangala aarti'… For the… pic.twitter.com/vioZvBEjl3

— ANI (@ANI) June 13, 2024

On Thursday morning, CM Majhi and his MLAs were seen at the temple performing Mangala aarti. Puri MP Sambit Patra and Balasore MP Pratap Chandra Sarangi were also present. The temple experienced a significant influx of devotees, resulting in long queues at the Singhadwara as worshippers took advantage of the newly opened gates.

This decision was warmly received by devotees who had long called for the reopening of all temple gates to facilitate smoother darshan of the Holy Trinity.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the previous BJD government, led by former CM Naveen Patnaik, had kept all four gates of the temple closed, allowing entry through only one gate. This had caused numerous complaints from pilgrims facing difficulties due to the restricted access.

The Cabinet has also decided to establish a substantial corpus fund for the conservation and preservation of the temple.