The Deoghar district administration on Sunday relaxed restrictions at Baba Baidhyanath Dham.

The temple announced that it will allow visitors from other states, while saying it will increase the entry limit of visitors per day to 1,000 from the existing cap of 200.

It has also increased the visiting hours from four hours to eight.

Deoghar deputy commissioner Kamleshwar Prasad said that the decision was taken following a meeting on Saturday in the wake of Unlock 5.

He said: “Earlier, we were allowing entry of 200 visitors per day which has now been extended to 1,000. Similarly, the temple will be open for darshan for eight hours against a four-hour window. All entry to the temple, however, will continue to be through online permits from the temple website.”

Prasad said that the temple will be open from 6am till 2pm.

He said: “While the doors of the temple are open for all, as per the government’s safety advisory, we appeal to senior citizens with comorbidities, pregnant ladies and infants to refrain from visiting.”

Following a Supreme Court order in connection with a PIL filed by BJP’s Godda MP Nishikant Dubey, the Jharkhand government notified reopening of the Baba Dham in Deoghar and Basukinath temple in Dumka on August 26 allowing the twin shrines to function only for four hours a day and only for devotees of the state.

However, the state government continued to impose curbs on all other religious establishments till this month. From October 8, other religious places gradually began reopening following a formal nod from the state government.

While the Chinnamastika temple in Ramgarh, Itkhori in Chatra and few others opened doors after seven months from October 8 itself, a majority of the temples in Ranchi began re-functioning only from October 10, after the Ranchi district administration barred their reopening till standard operating procedures were issued by the government