Jagannath Temple authorities will start asking devotees to follow a dress code inside the temple from next year. The dress code for devotes in the temple will come into effect from 1 January 2024, according to a report in PTI.
“The dress code will be strictly enforced inside the temple from January 1, 2024. Security personnel deployed at ‘Singha Dwar’ of the temple, and Pratihari servitors inside the temple have been assigned the responsibility to enforce the code,” Shree Jagannath Temple Administration chief Ranjan Kumar Das, PTI reported.
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A second temple official said the awareness campaigns to ask devotees to wear “decent clothes” in the temple will start from Tuesday. “The Jagannath temple police and the temple servitors would keep an eye on anyone wearing indecent clothes,” the official added.
Decision to enforce dress code inside temple premises
The temple authorities said, they took this decision after people were found in the temple in “indecent” clothing. Implementation of a proper dress code in the temple is a step towards maintaining the dignity and sanctity of the temple.
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“Some people were found in the temple wearing torn jeans pants, sleeveless dresses, and half-pants, as if they were strolling on the sea beach or a park. The temple is the abode of God, not a place for entertainment,” he said.
On the kind of dresses to be allowed, Das said that it would soon be decided. He said that the temple administration will start creating awareness about the dress code among the devotees first before implementing the dress code. The awareness program will start from Tuesday.
As of now, the authorities has said, people wearing half-pants, torn jeans, skirts and sleeveless dresses will not be allowed entry into the temple.
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Jagannath Temple in Orissa is not the only temple in India that took this decision. In the July last years, Jharkhand
Mahadev Temple in Jaipur district introduced a dress code for devotees. They asked them to refrain from wearing ripped jeans, shorts, frocks, night suits, and mini-skirts.
(With inputs from agencies)
