Devotees visiting the Jagannath Temple in Puri on New Year’s Day faced disappointment after rituals at the Patitapaban temple were delayed, resulting in late darshan for thousands of pilgrims who had assembled since early morning.
According to sources, the Patitapaban shrine, which allows devotees who cannot enter the main temple premises to have darshan of Lord Jagannath, opened later than the scheduled time. As a result, large crowds were seen waiting outside for hours, with many eventually returning without offering prayers.
The delay caused inconvenience particularly to elderly devotees and families who had arrived early to mark the New Year with prayers. Many expressed dissatisfaction over the lack of timely information and crowd management during the peak rush.
Despite the delay, temple authorities later facilitated darshan once rituals resumed, but the prolonged waiting period led to congestion in surrounding areas. Police and temple servitors were deployed to manage the crowd and restore order.
The incident came amid a massive influx of pilgrims to Puri for New Year celebrations, with lakhs visiting the temple town over the past few days. Temple officials have stated that steps will be taken to ensure smoother crowd management during peak periods in the coming days.