Argus News - AC Corridor To Be Set Up For Devotees In Front Of Puri Jagannath Temple

Puri, Dec 2: The Odisha government on Saturday decided to set up tunnel-like air-conditioned (AC) corridor for devotees waiting in queue in front of the Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri, following recent criticism over poor crowd management outside the Srimandir.

"An 85-metre tunnel-like corridor would be set up from Marchikot Chowk to the Singhdwar of Sri Jagannath Temple on the Grand Road. AC and drinking water facilities would be provided to devotees in the proposed corridor. The facility is likely to begin from the end of this month and it will be dismantled during Rath Yatra," Puri Sub-Collector Bhabataran Sahoo said.

Also Read: Odisha News

The Jagannath Temple witnessed a huge rush during the holy month of Kartika (eighth month of the Hindu calendar, which falls in October and November of the Gregorian calendar) with some devotees fainting due to suffocation.

Locals and pilgrims have criticised the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) and the Puri district administration for lack of basic facilities in the waiting area outside the 11th-century shrine.