Puri Shree Jagannath Temple will be opened for devotees from December 23 in a phased manner.

In the first phase, only people from Puri will be allowed to have a “darshan” of the deities. Devotees from other parts of the state will be able to enter the shrine only from January 3.

Devotees visiting the 12th Century shrine from outside Puri town will have to produce a Covid negative report to be able to enter the temple.

The temple, which is synonymous with Odia culture, has been closed for the past nine months because of the corna pandemic. The decision to reopen it was taken on Saturday at a meeting of the Confederation of the Chhattisha Niyoga, the highest body of servitors.

According to the decision, in the first phase the temple will be opened for the people of Puri till December 31. “The darshan of the devotees will remain closed on January 1 and January 2,” said chief administrator of Shree Jagannath Temple Krishan Kumar adding that the shrine will reopen on January 3 and welcome all devotees.

“But only about 5,000 devotees per day will be allowed for a week. Queue arrangements will be made both outside and inside temple,” he said. Gradually more and more devotees will be allowed to enter the shrine.

“Strict Covid-19 protocol will be implemented. Wearing of mask, use of hand sanitiser and social distancing will be insisted upon,” officials said.

Puri Shree Jagannath Temple PRO Laxmidhar Pujapanda told The Telegraph: “The devotees from outside Puri wanting to visit the temple will have to produce Covid negative certificates issued following tests done 48 hours before the temple visit.”