PIL seeks limited darshan at Ghatagaon Tarini temple

CUTTACK: A Keonjhar-based social worker has filed in the Orissa High Court a PIL seeking direction for allowing devotees to have limited darshan at Maa Tarini Temple at Ghatagaon as per Covid-19 guidelines.
Pratap Chandra Rout filed the petition through his counsel Suraj Kumar Mohapatra on Tuesday, a day after the State Government filed a counter affidavit in response to another PIL challenging the restriction on opening of religious sites and places of worship for the public.

In the affidavit filed on Monday, the Government claimed that, “Despite deployment of security personnel, maintaining social distancing inside the temple premises, especially in Garva Gruha (sanctum sanctorum) will be extremely difficult as almost all temples have narrow passages leading to the sanctum sanctorum”.
In his petition Rout said, “There is no sanctum sanctorum at Maa Tarini temple, so for that reason, no question of narrow passage is there”.

The petition also said there is ample space inside the temple premises for more than 500 devotees to have darshan of Maa Tarini at the same time by maintaining social distancing. Besides, the temple is open from all sides and only metal barricades are there. It is surrounded by another construction and there is a main gate for entrance of devotees and also another gate for exit. 

“At present, there is no containment zone in Ghatagaon area where the temple is located,” the petition said adding that the latest MHA guidelines impose restrictions on opening of religious places in containment zones only.