Puri: In adherence with the rule of law, Odisha Governor Ganeshi Lal returned without entering the Jagannath Temple in Puri as he did not have a Covid negative test report. However, he made a darshan of Lord Jagannath from Lion’s Gate or Singhadwar, the outer entrance of the Jagannath Temple and he later left the area.
As the temple reopened for public on January, the temple authorities had made it mandatory that the devotees should produce a Covid negative test report. The RT-PCR test should be conducted not more than 96 hours before the time of entry into the shrine.
Asked if the Governor was stopped at the shrine’s entrance, the temple administration said he turned back from the gate on his own volition. The honourable Governor showed respect to the government’s decision on the requirement of Covid negative report for entering the temple.
He offered prayer to the Patitapaban outside the temple and voluntarily refused to enter the temple, the temple’s chief administrator Krishan Kumar said.