Bhubaneswar, Aug.30 (UDN): Residents of Puri city may soon need biometric authentication to enter the Jagannath Temple, with the Odisha government planning a new system aimed at preventing misuse of fake Aadhaar cards and improving crowd management.
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Odisha Law Minister Prithviraj Harichandan said residents living within two designated postal PIN codes in Puri will be required to verify their identity using Aadhaar-linked authentication, along with fingerprint and iris scans, before entering the temple.
The proposed system is being developed as a pilot project with the involvement of IIT Bhubaneswar. The initiative is expected to help distinguish genuine local residents from those using fraudulent identity documents to gain access to the temple.
New Queue System Planned
The government is also working on a revamped queue-management system to make darshan more orderly, particularly during peak hours.
According to the Law Minister, wooden platforms with six-inch ramps will be installed to regulate the movement of devotees. The ramps will be designed to collapse when servitors need to carry bhog and other ritual offerings through the passage, allowing temple rituals to continue without disruption.
The pilot project will be implemented after receiving approval from members of the Chhatisanijog.
In another measure aimed at improving the experience of devotees, long sheds are also planned along the Bada Danda to provide protection from the sun and rain during queues and darshan.
Ratna Bhandar Counting to Resume
Meanwhile, preparations are underway for the next phase of the inventory and counting of valuables kept inside the Jagannath Temple’s Ratna Bhandar.
A preliminary meeting involving temple servitors and the temple administration has already been held to discuss security arrangements and ritual protocols for the upcoming exercise.
The next round of counting is scheduled for August 31 and September 1, from 4 PM until the completion of Sandhya Dhupa.
During the counting period, devotees will not be permitted to have darshan from the inner sanctum. However, arrangements will allow devotees to have darshan of the deities from the outer sanctum.
Temple officials said regular rituals will continue as scheduled. Authorised servitors will be permitted to enter the Jagamohan and Garbhagriha in accordance with established ritual requirements, while public access will remain restricted during the counting hours.
The Ratna Bhandar inventory exercise began on March 25, 2025, following state government guidelines. Officials said 78 hours and three minutes of counting have been completed so far.
The process was subsequently suspended during Rath Yatra and other major temple rituals. The upcoming exercise is intended to resume the systematic documentation of ornaments, valuables and other items stored in the temple treasury.
With biometric entry, improved queue infrastructure and the continuation of the Ratna Bhandar inventory, the temple administration is now focusing on strengthening both crowd management and security while ensuring that established rituals remain uninterrupted.
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