All four gates of Jagannath temple in Puri were reopened for devotees on Thursday morning in the presence of Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and his council of ministers.

The three gates of the 12th century shrine, which were closed since COVID-19 pandemic, were reopened after the 'Mangal Alati' ritual of Lord Jagannath.

The chief minister, his two deputies, ministers, several BJP MPs and party leaders visited the temple and offered prayers before Lord Jagannath. They also conducted a 'parikrama' around the temple complex.

"After the oath-taking ceremony, the BJP government had on Wednesday evening taken its first decision to reopen all four gates of the temple. Today, the gates were reopened at 6.30 am after the 'Mangal Alati' ritual," Majhi told reporters in Puri.

The government will closely monitor the situation and take necessary steps, if required, to streamline the flow of devotees to the shrine, the CM said.

He said the Odisha government has also decided to set up a Rs 500 crore corpus fund for better management, maintenance and development of the temple. The provision will be made in the upcoming state budget, Majhi said.

Cabinet minister Suresh Pujari said a detailed report has been sought to know why the three gates of the temple have not been reopened after the pandemic.

"We had the darshan of Lord Jagannath and sought his blessings to protect humankind and give us all strength to serve the people of Odisha for the next five years," he said.

Opening all the temple gates was a key promise in the BJP's election manifesto. The previous BJD government had kept three out of four gates shut since the COVID-19 pandemic.

The devotees were allowed to enter through only Singhadwara (Lion Gate), while the gates located at the three other sides of the temple remained closed, causing inconvenience to the devotees.

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